Experts Say Activision Blizzard Acquisition Won't Go Ahead
The day of reckoning is almost upon us. The Xbox purchase of Activision Blizzard has been a long time coming, and made immeasurable waves in the gaming industry. It set the standard of purchasing smaller studios for survival, even despite the fact that the purchase hasn't actually gone through yet.
The industry has already been struck with a huge impact, but the debate around the ethics of the purchase has remained rife - and even some professionals are unsure about the deal going ahead.
Xbox Could Be Stopped By The Monopolies Commission
Click to enlargeThough its initial announcement seemed to suggest that everything was a done deal, there's still a chance that Xbox's purchase of Activision Blizzard could yet come crashing down - and some experts are sure that it will.
There are still a lot of things standing in the way of the big brown sack with a dollar sign sprayed on the front of it being passed into Bobby Kotick's hands (because we presume that's how these things work), and the biggest is the American Monopolies Commission.
There's still a possibility that it could step in and keep Xbox from making the purchase, as it could start the chain of events that leads to Microsoft's total takeover of the industry. Despite 98% of shareholders voting for the deal, it's not that simple.
Expert Isn't Convinced The Deal Will Go Ahead
Click to enlargeThe deal is so up in the air that one expert has outwardly said that he doesn't think it's going to be finalised at all. Well-known analyst Michael Pachter has been quoted by Bloomberg as having said that there's only a 10% chance of the deal actually going through - despite the fact that he doesn't think the company will create a new monopoly in a business with its biggest companies hailing from China rather than America.
The actual result of the attempted purchase remains to be seen, but even so, it's compelling that one of the biggest purchases in gaming history could simply not happen. Given that the troubled Activision Blizzard has already started championing its own brighter future, there could be some red-faced execs. If the deal doesn't go through, it'll make history all over again.
