"This seems like bulls**t to me" - Asmongold comments on CMA preventing Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard

On April 27, 2023, Twitch star Zack "Asmongold" shared his thoughts on the recent developments in Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. For those unaware, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that the $68.7 billion purchase has been prevented in the United Kingdom due to concerns that it will harm competition in the cloud gaming market:

When Asmongold read the social media update, he claimed that there was "no authenticity" to it. The popular MMORPG streamer went on to say that the situation looked like "bulls**t" in the United States. He did, however, claim that the United Kingdom appeared to have "better laws":

"Now, I will tell you guys this. I see no... there is no authenticity to this. There is no... this just seems like bulls**t to me, in the U.S. However, in the U.K., I think that they do actually have better laws."

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"Doesn't really make a lot of sense": Asmongold on CMA's decision to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard

At the two-hour mark of his livestream, Asmongold came across the CMA's announcement regarding Microsoft and Activision Blizzard's merger. After sharing his initial thoughts on the situation, he explained what he thought was unfair to consumers:

"The best comparison that I had used is that, I don't find it to be fair, or good for consumers that, two companies have a duo monopoly on all app services on all smartphones in the world. In the U.S. I don't find it; this is not healthy for a customer. This is not healthy for anybody else."

The Twitch star cited Apple and Google (Android) as examples of companies that dominate the smartphone and application marketplace. He elaborated:

"Here in the U.S., I don't think that it is fair that, you know, Apple has 49% of app marketplace market share. And then Samsung, iOS; or not iOS, but Android has the other 49%. This is clearly not good for any free market. Because they control pretty much everything. So, yeah. I mean, I think over in the U.K. and EU, I think that they have different rules for apps. So, I don't find this to be as much of a double standard."

Timestamp: 02:26:10

According to Asmongold, European government officials are "more hip" than their counterparts in the United States:

"The European people that are in their government are 60 years old. Whereas, the people in the U.S. government are 80 years old. So, they are a little bit more hip to the times, that we are. So, they are a little bit faster."

Coming back to the CMA's decision to prevent Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard, Asmongold added:

"'I believe that this will be the end of the deal. Microsoft will appeal. They will be taking this to court. This will be delayed.' Yeah, I don't really feel like... I don't know. It just doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. That, like, this one is going to get denied. But, how is it okay, like, other companies got merged? But this is also the thing that happened in the U.S. So, it's very hard for me to say. I don't know what the U.K. laws are."

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Fans react to Asmongold's take

The One True King (OTK) co-founder's take on the situation drew a lot of attention on YouTube, as more than 485 fans shared their thoughts in the comments section. Here's what they had to say:

Fans in the YouTube comments section reacting to the streamer's clip (Image via Asmongold Clips/YouTube)

While one community member had a "strong feeling" that recent developments would cause the acquisition to be delayed, another viewer claimed that Asmongold's comparison of Apple's market share to Android's was a "bad example."