The UK's CMA says Microsoft's $69B Activision Blizzard acquisition will require an in-depth review and gives Microsoft a September 8 deadline to offer remedies
The CMA had already opened its initial investigation into Microsoft’s proposed purchase, setting up this remedies deadline as the point at which the inquiry could move into a fuller competition review.
Microsoft must put forward remedies by September 8 or face an in-depth CMA review, extending regulatory uncertainty around its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The CMA gains a formal mechanism to test whether Microsoft’s proposed commitments adequately protect competition in the UK gaming market.
Second-order effects
Microsoft’s deal team must begin negotiating a remedy package early, rather than treating the initial investigation as a routine clearance process.
Activision Blizzard’s transaction timetable becomes contingent on UK competition findings, while the eventual rights-sale proposal shows the review pushed the parties toward structural changes to the deal.
Third-order effects
The case establishes that the CMA can demand transaction-specific changes from a global game-platform acquisition, not merely assess the buyer’s ownership of a publisher.
If this approach holds, large gaming deals will increasingly be structured around preserving access to key content or rights for third parties before UK clearance is secured.
The trend: Gaming consolidation is shifting from straightforward publisher acquisitions toward regulator-shaped deals that must preserve competitive access to valuable game rights.
I'm not sure the CMA is familiar with the gaming industry when it says Microsoft has a “strong position in gaming consoles...” Is third place a strong position? • PlayStation 4: 117.2 million sales • Nintendo Switch: 111 million sales • Xbox One: ~58 million sales
I've read through the CMA's decision on Microsoft's Activision deal. It's written like they want to protect Sony's #1 position in gaming, while also claiming there isn't much competition to Call of Duty (?!). Millions of people still play CS:GO every day and Apex Legends is huge …
Phil Spencer published a letter today explaining Microsoft's view on the deal once again: ‘gaming for everyone, everywhere’ He also confirms that Overwatch, Diablo and Call Of Duty are headed to Game Pass https://blogs.microsoft.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
UK regulator on MS-Activision. deal: “we are concerned that Microsoft could use its control over popular games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft post-merger to harm rivals, including .. rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming.” https://www.gov.uk/...
Have no doubt, behind the scenes Sony is concerned about the MS Activision Blizzard deal and is actively sharing its side of the argument. This deal could take a long time to go through
From the start, this is what I've said was the most likely argument for “aggressive” antitrust enforcement. “...[MS] could leverage [ABK] games together with [MS] strength across console, cloud, and PC [OS] to damage competition in the nascent market for cloud gaming services.” h…
“The CMA is concerned that having full control over this powerful catalogue, especially in light of Microsoft's already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure could result in Microsoft... impairing Sony's ability to compete”
We've been investigating @Microsoft's anticipated $69 billion purchase of @ATVI_AB and have discovered that the deal could substantially lessen competition in: 🎮 gaming consoles 🖲️ multi-game subscription services ☁️ cloud gaming services https://twitter.com/...
#Microsoft and #Activision #Blizzard now have 5 days to make proposals to address our concerns. If any proposals made are not sufficient, we'll explore this deal in more depth to reach a decision that works for UK gamers and businesses. Find out more: https://www.gov.uk/...