Microsoft Activision Blizzard appeal: what happens next?

eurogamer.net:

Microsoft has said it will appeal today's shock decision by UK regulators to block its $68.7bn Activision Blizzard acquisition — but how will this work, and could it still be a success?

Appealing today's decision will be a lengthy process for Microsoft, and hamper any chance of the deal being approved globally for months — and that's without the separate decisions still due from the US Federal Trade Commission and the EU's European Commission, both of which are still scrutinising the deal for themselves.

«According to the Competition Appeal Tribunal site, straightforward cases are aimed to be dealt with within nine months,» games industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls told Eurogamer today. «If the appeal is successful it is then returned to the CMA to review. This again will take some time.

»I think the chances of the acquisition closing this year have dropped substantially. Next up is the EU decision on the deal towards the end of May and the FTC action at the beginning of August."

Could Microsoft's appeal be seen as a straightforward case? Considering the deep concern expressed by the CMA in its final report today over the deal's impact on the growth of cloud gaming, it seems unlikely the CMA would suddenly U-turn on its approach.

«The recent news that the CMA had narrowed its focus of concern to the cloud gaming market raised hopes that the deal would be approved, following Microsoft's suggested behavioural remedies and very public deals with cloud gaming companies,» Harding-Rolls continued. «After all, streaming of games is still fairly nascent in the UK.

»This has not been the case. The CMA is more concerned about Microsoft's extent of cloud gaming capability across Azure, Windows and Xbox Cloud Gaming. The deals