On 8 March 2021, the European Commission unconditionally cleared Microsoft’s $7.5bn acquisition of ZeniMax (publisher of video games including the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series). The Commission considered and rejected horizontal theories of harm in games publishing and non-horizontal theories of harm arising from Microsoft’s Xbox console. CRA advised the Parties.
The politician and the judge: Implications for competition policy
Drawing on the historical evolution of antitrust policy, the authors argue that some increase in politicisation is likely an inevitable result of the expansion...