Antitrust IntelligenceAntitrust IntelligenceAntitrust Intelligence
Sign in
Notification
Font ResizerAa
  • For Lawyers
    For Lawyers
    Here, you’ll find the regulatory trends and hidden market shifts that others miss. You’ll learn where markets (and your clients’ industries) are heading—and how to…
    Show More
    Latest News
    Brussels Pressures Italy to Lift Golden Power Hurdles on UniCredit Deal
    July 11, 2025
    Lloyds, Barclays, Santander’s £6 billion Risk Hinges on July UK Supreme Court Ruling
    July 10, 2025
    Zoetis Faces Higher Risks in UK Study than EU Antitrust Probe
    July 9, 2025
    OECD List with Most and Least Competitive Industries
    July 6, 2025
  • For Investors
    For Investors
    Regulatory events move markets—often faster than earnings reports. A merger approval or a hefty fine can send a stock soaring or sinking in a day.…
    Show More
    Latest News
    Bank Pekao: On Its Way to lead Poland’s financial sector
    July 8, 2025
    Nexi: Solid Numbers With Regulatory Events as Catalysts
    July 2, 2025
    Ercros: A Risky Bet With a Good Margin is Coming to an End
    June 25, 2025
    Zalando: two upcoming regulatory events may have minor upside
    June 23, 2025
  • News
    News
    Stay informed with our global antitrust news compilation—bringing you the latest developments, regulatory updates, and key cases from around the world, all in one place
    Show More
    Latest News
    OpenAI Challenges Chrome with AI Browser Launch
    July 11, 2025
    Australia Clears Lactalis’ Acquisition of Fonterra’s Dairy Businesses
    July 11, 2025
    Italy Launches Investigation into Revolut for Alleged Unfair Commercial Practices
    July 10, 2025
    Türkiye Imposes Daily Fines on Google Over Continued Non-Compliance With Competition Order
    July 10, 2025
  • Why Join?
  • Memberships
Reading: NVIDIA Could Profit From Microsoft-Activision’s Approval
Font ResizerAa
Antitrust IntelligenceAntitrust Intelligence
Search
  • For Lawyers
  • For Investors
  • News
  • Why Join?
  • Memberships
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Investors

NVIDIA Could Profit From Microsoft-Activision’s Approval

Editorial
Last updated: March 10, 2025 9:45 am
Editorial
Published June 18, 2023
Share
Screenshot

NVIDIA is the first company in the semiconductor sector to reach a valuation of $1 trillion. While the company owes its success partly to the promising prospects of generative AI, the Microsoft-Activision deal may help the company growing in the gaming sector.

Although NVIDIA’s gaming revenue for fiscal year 2023 experienced a decline of 27% compared to 2022, the outlook for the remainder of the year and 2024 appears more favorable. This may be attributed, in part, to the potential benefits arising from the $75 billion Microsoft-Activision deal. While one might initially assume that this deal could harm NVIDIA and reinforce Microsoft’s dominance in the market, it may actually assist NVIDIA in expanding its market share and boosting revenue in the cloud gaming domain.

The deal’s fate currently hangs in the balance, as a US judge has temporarily halted its closure at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A hearing is scheduled for June 22-23. Furthermore, the deal is also under review by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in the United Kingdom.

Interestingly, the merger review in the UK has shed light on relevant details regarding NVIDIA’s market share in the cloud gaming market and its recent agreement with Microsoft. According to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), NVIDIA GFN (GeForce) holds a market share of 20-30% for cloud gaming services globally, based on average Monthly Active Users (MAUs). Although this figure still falls short of Microsoft’s dominant market share of 50-60%, it significantly surpasses Sony’s Play Station cloud gaming share of 10-20%.

If we were to rely on Microsoft’s estimations of market shares, NVIDIA’s market share would range from 50% to 60%, according to the data submitted to the regulator. The regulator’s decision presents varied market shares for different services, both paid and unpaid, and across different regions such as the UK. Generally, NVIDIA lags behind Sony and Microsoft in terms of paid services.

Of note is the distinction made by the regulator when describing the console market, which consistently features the same three main competitors: Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation, and Nintendo’s Switch, with no other significant contenders. However, the landscape changes in the realm of cloud gaming, where emerging players like NVIDIA GFN and Boosteroid could play a vital role in this nascent yet rapidly expanding market.

Market sources estimate the value of the cloud gaming market at $6 billion in 2023, with a projected growth reaching $85 billion by 2030.

For any company to thrive in the cloud gaming industry, it must offer captivating content and games that attract players and developers. In the absence of the Microsoft-Activision merger, NVIDIA would unlikely gain access to blockbuster games such as Call of Duty and other future titles developed by Activision. It would have to rely solely on its own creations and licensing agreements with other parties.

However, this situation may change as a result of the merger. In their efforts to obtain regulatory approvals in the UK and Europe, Microsoft and Activision proposed a remedy package that includes granting access to Activision’s existing and future PC games for a period of ten years to NVIDIA and other cloud gaming providers. In the UK, this ten-year license, offered by Microsoft and Activision, is limited to only three cloud gaming providers: NVIDIA, Boosteroid, and Ubitus. Although this limitation to three providers is currently subject to discussion in court, it could potentially offer NVIDIA an additional advantage.

The deal faces significant challenges in court, and approval is not guaranteed. Nevertheless, if the parties ultimately succeed in closing the deal and execute these agreements, NVIDIA would gain access to a broad range of gaming content, which could enable it to expand its current market share of 20-30%.

Yet, as the CMA pointed out, agreements may be renegotiated or terminated early, and this led the regulator to not accept the commitments (and other reasons like the limitation of the license to just three cloud gaming providers).

These agreements between Microsoft-Activision and NVIDIA are intricately linked to the outcome of the deal. Hence, if Microsoft and Activision fail to complete the deal, NVIDIA’s chances of securing the ten-year license would diminish. Nevertheless, these negotiations between the parties, which have emerged as a result of regulatory scrutiny, suggest that licensing agreements may pave the way forward in this nascent market.

You Might Also Like

Golf Tour Merger Ends Conflict But Raises Legal Questions

Pets at Home Rallies on Vet Growth—But CMA Risk Lurks Larger Than for CVS

Facebook’s Libra 2.0 Reduces, Not Eliminates, Antitrust Riks

UK’s Financial Regulator Is The New Antitrust Kid On the Block

Apple’s Facing an Epic Battle for its App Store, $5 Billion in Fines and Changes

TAGGED:activisioncloudeuropean commissionftcgamingM&Amergermicrosoftnvidiaremedies

Weekly Newsletter

Insights you can turn into money or clients
Antitrust Intelligence

About Us

We identify and quantify regulatory risks so you can take better decisions
Menu
  • Lawyers
  • Investors
  • News
  • My Bookmarks
  • About Us
  • Contact
Legals
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe Us

Subscribe to our newsletter to get weekly ideas to make money and get new clients!

© 2025 Antitrust Intelligence. All Rights Reserved. - Web design Málaga by Seb creativos
Antitrust Intelligence
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Antitrust & Financial Markets? Download Your Free Guide NOW
Five tips to find unique regulatory intelligence
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?