Microsoft tries to win over regulators for its massive Activision Blizzard deal
CNN
Microsoft is trying to persuade regulators to approve its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard with a series of new app store commitments that it says will put the company "on the right side of history" as policymakers worldwide debate new laws to force competition open in digital marketplaces.
The 11-point pledge, announced Wednesday, includes promises by Microsoft to allow third-party app stores on its platforms and to not give preferential treatment to its own published games on the digital marketplaces the company runs. Microsoft also committed to letting software developers use whichever payment system they prefer rather than require that they use Microsoft's proprietary channels.
The pledge covers not just the Activision Blizzard deal but virtually all of Microsoft's gaming business going forward, including metaverse platforms, CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith told reporters during a visit to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
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The opening was shy of analysts’ expectations that it could earn more than $100 million, but it also earned roughly $257 million internationally, bringing its global opening to $345 million.