UK's CMA Blocks Microsoft-Activision Merger

thegamer.com:

In a shocking turn of events, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority has blocked Microsoft's merger with Activision Blizzard. Today is the date of the CMA's final decision on the proposed deal and in a surprise it has prevented it from going forward, citing concerns over the future of the cloud gaming market and not the expected issue of Call of Duty.

The ruling comes as a surprise because earlier this week the Financial Times had reported that the CMA would likely wave the deal ahead and it was widely reported that the CMA had softened in its position after Microsoft had made efforts to placate the market regulator. "The final decision to prevent the deal comes after Microsoft's proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector," CMA's ruling says on the UK's government website.

Related: Is Anyone Even Asking For Call Of Duty On Nintendo Switch?

Microsoft announced its $68.7 billion deal to purchase Activision Blizzard back in January but the UK watchdog took a great interest in the proposed acquisition since such a massive merger could potentially hamper the competitiveness of the games industry. Ever since it has been conducting an in-depth investigation of how such a deal could affect the industry and has been closely listening to others in the space such as Sony and Nintendo, among others.

But it was not the issue of Call of Duty in the end that decided the CMA's hand. The highly popular shooter series was highlighted by the CMA with concerns that Microsoft might make it exclusive to its platforms. Microsoft said it would not make it exclusive and made overtures to that effect, proposing contracts to Sony and signing them with the likes of Nintendo. It was instead cloud