Microsoft has resorted to full-page newspaper ads to promote the Call of Duty aspect of their proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The UK ads claim they will bring the franchise to 150 million more players across new platforms, something that they’ve already started to do with their recent Nintendo Switch and Nvidia GeForce Now deals.
The UK CMA may not approve the Activision Blizzard deal
The purpose of the ads in papers like the Financial Times and the Daily Mail, as spotted by The Verge, is likely to drum up public support for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Following the link at the bottom of the newspaper ads leads to more details on Microsoft’s aims for Call of Duty, including the aforementioned Nintendo and Nvidia deals. The problem is that the public has no say in the final decision.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the one responsible for approval of the deal or turning it down. They have already implied that the latter is the most likely decision by stating in their final report (via Equity Report) that they would not be afraid to make a different decision to the European Commission. The most recent rumors have claimed the EU is set to approve the deal as long as licensing deals for Activision Blizzard IPs are made available to other platforms like PlayStation. An actual final decision is not expected to made for quite a while yet, though.
