As the European Union investigates Microsoft's historic $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (open in new tab), Ricardo Cardoso, EU Ministry of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (Unit Interinstitutional & Outreach) Deputy Head, accidentally stepped into the matter. Ricardo Cardoso himself was not involved in the merger approval process.

On November 8, the EU's Directorate-General for Competition (gotta get that name right, people) tweeted (opens in new tab) the announcement of a detailed investigation into the merger of Microsoft and Active Ritz. This has already got Xbox Saldacar on Twitter hot, but Cardoso, who is not part of the EU's Directorate-General for Competition, tweeted a funny tweet (opens in new tab) commenting on the announcement.

"The European Commission is working on making 'Call of Duty' playable on other consoles (including my PlayStation)," Cardoso tweeted." Also on our list of things to do is to update our inventory photos; Xbox and PlayStation have been using wireless controllers since around 2006, whereas these gamers have been using wired controllers."

Now, I interpreted this as a deliberately humorous commentary on the mechanisms by which the state intervenes in video games, as well as a pure emphasis on the normal and necessary regulatory process for vetting the massive power plays in the rapidly solidifying gaming industry. The rowdy Xbox gamers in Cardoso's comments read his remarks as a provocative ally in the most deadly and serious conflict of all, the console wars.

"Don't worry, PlayStation fans, we're not going to let you down. One commenter writes.

Others argue that "it is obvious to anyone who genuinely follows the gaming industry that the only reason not to approve this deal, which will bring more competition to gaming as a whole, is to protect Sony's ability to use its market power to continue to unfairly undercut others."

Frankly, it's not quite that obvious to me. The claim that the largest corporate consolidation in video game history will "bring more competition to gaming as a whole" is a mental blow from which I may never recover.

One notable person who participated in Cardoso's reply is Ryan McCaffrey (open in new tab), executive editor of IGN. He noted that Phil Spencer had previously said that Microsoft would "continue to ship 'Call of Duty' on PlayStation."

McCaffrey's citation of Spencer's public statement is a reasonable response, although it should be noted that a company's substantive policies may conflict with its stated goals and values. Also, Xbox has adopted some excellent customer-first initiatives, especially in recent years, such as Game Pass, Xbox Backcompat, and releasing games on Xbox and PC at the same time. While the "Call of Duty" reference is nothing more than a playful joke, regulatory oversight of corporate mergers, especially mergers with this much impact, remains an important function of government.

Corporate strategy is flexible as Xbox takes a more consumer-friendly stance and loosens its grip on IP. Only a few years ago there was Games for Windows Live, and in the 1990s Microsoft faced massive antitrust litigation in the U.S. over some of its business practices; shifts like the ActiBlizz merger, a $68.7 billion acquisition, and equally mind-boggling capital can only be reversed by an exchange of capital, and Xbox's relationship with its customers could be altered by high-level personnel changes.

And again, Cardoso was not part of the process to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but merely expressed his opinion on Twitter. 'Just to be clear, I was not involved in the evaluation of the merger, nor do I work in a department that deals with mergers.' Cardoso wrote on November 12, a few days after the initial furor (open in new tab). As my profile makes clear, my comments are personal and not the Commission's position, which is determined by the facts and the law."

This did not appease the Xbox admirers on Twitter. One comment poster felt the need to reply with a blurry JPEG image of a character named Ross from Friends and the text "Get a load of this fucking idiot." Other comments were of a similar nature.

"The damage is done. The European process is dubious and there is no way Microsoft will get a fair review." I don't know how Cardoso's utterance of "I want to play 'Call of Duty' on PlayStation" indicates a "dubious process," but we have long ago stepped into the new and frightening territory of mental combat.

PC Gamer has always maintained its longstanding neutrality in the console wars, but if Sony doesn't release Bloodborne on PC, I'll be inconveniencing public officials on the Internet myself.Bloodborne on Steam deck, power-saving adaptive resolution It's running at 40fps thanks to the feature.