| Februar 2023 |  |
[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64088cf9d3bf7f25f61ff804/Microsoft.Activision_-_Response_to_Remedies_Notice_-_NCV__2_.pdf]
Game Pass prices will not increase as a result of the Merger, and certainly
will not increase to a point that offsets the substantial benefits of Activision
titles coming to Game Pass on a day and date basis. This is especially so
given Game Pass will continue to be constrained by B2P. The Provisional
Findings are postulating that the price of Game Pass would go up as a result of
the Merger to a degree that offset the benefits set out above. But no mechanism
is put forward to explain why this would be so. The integration of Activision
and Microsoft will result in a classic elimination of double marginalization
effect because Microsoft will be able to acquire these games at (opportunity)
cost and will have incentives to distribute them more broadly and increase the
output of Game Pass relative to its counterfactual level. In order to increase
output Microsoft will need to offer Game Pass at a lower quality-adjusted price.
This is exactly what Microsoft has done when it has added content to Game Pass
in the past with, for example, the ZeniMax transaction resulting in additional
content but no increase in Game Pass subscription prices.