Microsoft has a short window in which to allay concerns raised in the initial report, or the deal faces further scrutiny.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has announced that, following an initial investigation, it is prepared to open an in-depth 'Phase 2' enquiry into Microsoft'sto acquire Activision Blizzard. The CMA is the UK's anti-trust regulator, responsible for maintaining the competitive integrity of the markets, and could be a significant hurdle for the acquisition if its concerns are not addressed.
Another concern is adding Activision Blizzard to Microsoft's broader gaming ecosystem, meaning that incorporating its wide range of titles into, say, Game Pass or a streaming offer could be unfair to any smaller competitors. The CMA reckons this has the potential to"damage competition in the nascent market for cloud gaming services."
Analysing the potential for Microsoft"using ABK’s content to foreclose rivals", the CMA goes on to note that"Microsoft has followed this approach in several past acquisitions of gaming studios, where it made future game releases from those studios exclusive in consoles to Xbox ." "This week we heard from the United Kingdom, where we have more employees than anywhere except North America. We have entered the second phase of our review there, and we will continue to fully cooperate with the regulators there, and everywhere approvals are required."
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