There Federal Trade Commissionthe American federal commission that deals with corporate acquisitions (and not only) is on a war footing: the question is an investigation into the acquisition by Sonythe Japanese giant, from software company Bungie.
Under investigation there would be that famous acquisition, concluded a few months ago, for the stratospheric figure of $ 3.6 billion (if you missed the reasons behind this acquisition, don’t worry we leave them here). Although everything seems to have been concluded before the end of the fiscal year, Sony has never formalized the end of the transaction and in fact it could also conclude it in the next fiscal year.
The investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (hereafter FTC) suggests that the supervisory body is undoubtedly taking a more rigid stance towards mergers by the video game industry. Another example was Microsoft’s acquisition of the Activision Blizzard group, where although shareholders endorsed the matter, Wall Street is betting on the failure of the operation.
According to the FTC, the doubt lies in Sony’s intentions regarding the acquisition of Bungie: in particular, reference is made to the fact that the software company could continue to publish its products on platforms external to the PlayStation (this is the 4th or the latest born, the 5) such as PC and Xbox or Nintendo Switch. What is clear at the moment is that the IP Destiny 2 will remain cross-platform while a veil of doubt hovers over the rest.
Sony is preparing to release ten games that contain online services, allowing players to play “live” and undoubtedly Bungie plays a fundamental role in this game. Although this deal is unlikely to collapse, the FTC is clearly examining these massive acquisitions like never before. There has been growing concern about the potential consolidation of the gaming industry, and the FTC likely shares a lot of that.
