UK regulator knocks back Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal
UK regulator the Competition and Market's Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard merger "may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition" within the game industry.
The CMA has been investigating the deal for months, and today published its provisional findings so interested parties can respond before the regulator reaches its final decision.
Although the CMA's provisional findings aren't set in stone, the fact the regulator still isn't convinced that Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion deal will have a positive impact on the industry–as the Xbox maker has repeatedly claimed–isn't exactly Good News for the company.
Outlining its concerns, the CMA says it provisionally found "competition concerns" in the markets for gaming consoles and cloud gaming services in the UK, and again seems to be concerned that Microsoft could move to make key Activision Blizzard franchises such as Call of Duty (CoD) platform exclusive post-merger.
Microsoft has repeatedly denied it would take that route, and has offered to keep Call of Duty on rival platforms for at least the next decade.
"In relation to gaming consoles, we provisionally found that Xbox and PlayStation compete closely with each other, and that Activision’s Call of Duty (CoD) is important to the competitive offering of each. The evidence suggests that, after the Merger, Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make CoD exclusive to Xbox or available on Xbox on materially better terms than on PlayStation," wrote the CMA.
"We provisionally found that this would substantially reduce competition in gaming consoles to the detriment of gamers—Xbox and PlayStation gamers alike—which could result in higher prices,
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