The EU recently questioned Microsoft's rivals about their thoughts should the Activision Blizzard acquisition go through.

This piece of news comes courtesy of Reuters, which saw a document detailing the move. According to them, the European Commission (EU) sent out a 91-page questionnaire earlier this month. The questionnaire was most likely for gaming companies, asking them about what they think Microsoft will do if they acquire Activision Blizzard. Someone familiar with the matter said that the recipients include console providers, game publishers, distributors, and developers, as well as PC operating system providers.

The questionnaire seemed to focus more on the idea of exclusivity. This is one of the biggest worries when it comes to the buyout. To be specific, there are some voices stating that Microsoft might make Call of Duty exclusive. This claim is something Microsoft has refuted over and over again. In fact, Microsoft even offered Sony a ten- year deal for the franchise. Of course, this is not convincing enough for a lot of people. As such, measures like the EU, UK, and FTC‘s investigation is needed.

The questionnaire asked the following question regarding exclusivity:

Please specify which partial exclusivity strategy or strategies you believe Microsoft would have the ability to deploy with respect to Activision Blizzard's console games after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Although Microsoft offered a ten-year deal to Sony for Call of Duty, it is indeed possible that they will make it into an exclusive after ten years is up. Microsoft themselves previously said that the acquisition is for mobile games, however, some parties find it skeptical. Other than that, the EU Commission also asked if Microsoft would do other strategies. This includes lowering the non-Xbox releases or increasing the price for other platforms. They also mentioned if they think exclusive features will pop up, or if this will impact cloud gaming competition. They even brought up questions on whether Microsoft would restrict releases to other PC operating systems.

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The EU gave these companies until before Christmas to fill out the questionnaire. When Reuters asked for a comment, the EU Commission declined to comment.

We don't know exactly which companies received the questionnaire (although we can most likely guess). However, we can be sure that their answers will have a huge impact on the EU's decision next year.

That's all the information we have about the questionnaire the EU Commission gave to Microsoft's rivals. If you want to read more about the ongoing acquisition, you can read our Microsoft articles. Other than that, you can stay updated on gaming news with our gaming news articles.