SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Microsoft on Wednesday courted the
favor of antitrust regulators scrutinizing its plan to buy video game maker
Activision Blizzard, promising that any app store it builds will treat
developers fairly.

  Microsoft president Brad Smith laid out a set of "Open App Store
Principles" that will apply to the store it runs for Windows-powered
computers and "the next-generation marketplaces we will build for games."

  "We have developed these principles in part to address Microsoft's growing
role and responsibility as we start the process of seeking regulatory
approval in capitals around the world for our acquisition of Activision
Blizzard," Smith said in a statement.

  Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy video game powerhouse Activision
Blizzard needs to pass muster with regulators in Europe and the United States
intent on reining in tech titans.

  After the merger plans were announced last month, analysts told AFP the
deal would certainly be scrutinized, but likely less intensely than would an
acquisition by Amazon, Google, or Facebook-parent Meta.

  Microsoft appeared to be trying to differentiate itself from Apple and
Google, who have been accused of tightly controling their respective app
stores and taking too big a bite out of revenue brought in by developers.

  Principles outlined by Microsoft included allowing all developers access to
its app store and not requiring them to use the technology firm's payment
system for in-app transactions.

  All apps in a Microsoft shop will be treated equally, according to Smith.

  "We want to encourage more innovation and investment in content creation
and fewer constraints on distribution," he said.

  "The world needs open app markets, and this requires open app stores."

  Tech giants have come under fire from multiple fronts for app store
controls.

  In January, Apple was fined five million euros ($5.6 million) by the Dutch
consumer watchdog for failing to allow dating app operators to choose payment
options other than the Apple Pay system in its Dutch App Store.

  In November, a US federal court ordered Apple to loosen control of its App
Store payment options after a legal clash with Fortnite creator Epic Games,
which had accused the iPhone maker of operating a monopoly in its shop for
digital goods or services.

  The US judge, however, said Epic had failed to prove that antitrust
violations had taken place.

  Epic Games is locked in bitter legal battles with Apple and Google, whose
operating systems run nearly all the smartphones in the world.

  Both companies charge what they deem appropriate fees on transactions made
on Apple's App Store and Google Play.

  But app makers have become increasingly furious in recent years over the
cut taken by the tech giants.