Could Microsoft Be Blocked From Acquiring Activision Blizzard King For 10 Years?

General news News 05/02/2023

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The UK’s competition and markets watchdog, the CMA, could be taking a tough stance against the Redmond tech giant.

The CMA has released its final report on Microsoft’s acquisition plan, and it sounds like the CMA could block the acquisition for ten years (due to not trusting the company), which is a bit of a joke when you consider how many 10-year deals the Redmond-based company has with cloud platforms, such as GeForce Now. In its most recent agreement with Nware, Microsoft said it would make Activision’s Blizzard King games available regardless of the CMA’s decision.

Microsoft was caught off-guard by the CMA’s decision (which the authority explained in over 400 pages…). Under section 11.26, you can read this ban, which the CMA would do as standard practice for this decade. It would only change if the circumstances changed significantly. Microsoft has already conceded that it will take action at the competition appeal tribunal, the CAT, but that is no guarantee that the CAT will overturn the CMA’s decision. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not take kindly to Microsoft president Brad Smith saying the CMA ruling was a bad day for Britain: A spokesman for Sunak said Smith’s statement was wrong and that the CMA was acting independently of the government…

According to a market research firm, DFC Intelligence, all is not lost for Microsoft: “DFC now believes that the CMA may require Microsoft to offer more than it is willing to give. There is a growing danger that Microsoft will walk away from the purchase. DFC Intelligence believes the deal will go through, provided Microsoft is willing to make more concessions to appease regulators. But at what point does compromising eliminate the strategic objectives for acquiring the first place? A remedy acceptable to the CMA would probably limit Microsoft’s ability to use Game Pass as an entry to other services. There will be some point where Microsoft will walk away versus compromising,” the company wrote.

According to DFC, Microsoft faces a long fight ahead, and a decision after any further concessions may not be made this year, and the US company could decide to call off the acquisition sooner than that…

Source: GameRant, WCCFTech

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Angyal Anikó

Anikó, our news editor and communication manager, is more interested in the business side of the gaming industry. She worked at banks, and she has a vast knowledge of business life. Still, she likes puzzle and story-oriented games, like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, which is her favourite title. She also played The Sims 3, but after accidentally killing a whole sim family, swore not to play it again. (For our office address, email and phone number check out our IMPRESSUM)