Now that it’s cleared the way in the U.S. and signed a Call of Duty deal with Sony, Microsoft has asked U.K. regulator CMA to unblock the Activision Blizzard deal. The company submitted a “change of circumstances” document, hoping that the CMA will now reconsider its decision.
Will CMA finally unblock the Microsoft Activision deal?
Microsoft and Activision formally agreed to push the merger deadline to October 2023 to make room for the CMA to revise its decision. Microsoft is hoping to offer remedies that’ll be acceptable to the regulator. The CMA dismissed the console theory of harm, but took issue with Microsoft enjoying a monopoly in the cloud gaming space.
“As the CMA is aware, Sony was the principal opponent of the transaction and maintained that Microsoft was not serious about entering into a deal with Sony,” Microsoft noted. “Microsoft has always maintained publicly and privately that, in line with its strategy to make more games available to more gamers on more platforms, it would not withdraw or withhold Activision games from Sony. The Sony Agreement now formalizes this public commitment.”
The CMA is continuing to seek input on the merger from various parties, but it is expected that the deal will ultimately pass before the deadline is up in October.
