EU May Hinder ZeniMax Merger With Microsoft
While Microsoft recently acquired ZeniMax Media Inc. the deal may be problematic according to EU regulations. According to the regulations in Europe, the Commission finds that the merger falls within the scope of the Merger Regulations and they reserve the final decision with the merge. While Bethesda’s upcoming Starfield may be exclusive to Xbox, the EU could prevent the acquisition entirely. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate brings the Game Pass lineup to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and mobile through xCloud.
“On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved,” said the EU in a recent statement. Considering the EU reserves the final decision on Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media Inc. it’s entirely possible that Microsoft will have to jump through some hoops just to fully secure the massive company.
Some Bethesda and ZeniMax Media fans are speculating that titles from the developers will be exclusive to Xbox moving forward, while others say that’s definitely not happening, meanwhile, the EU can apparently prevent the acquisition from fully taking place at all. Since the EU hasn’t said anything about preventing the merger, it’s likely that they won’t be coming after Microsoft over the ZeniMax acquisition, but the fact that they reserve the right is likely concerning for the tech giant.
Do you hope that the EU prevents Microsoft from completing the ZeniMax Media Inc. acquisition or are you looking forward to seeing what the developers can do under the Xbox Game Studios banner? Let us know in the comments below!