Activision is best known for being the designer and distributor of video games such as Call of Duty. / bloomberg
Photo: Bloomberg-Michael Ciaglo
Microsoft’s chances of winning antitrust approval for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard have risen after British regulators narrowed their investigation to focus solely on cloud gaming.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it changed its mind after evaluating a “significant amount” of new evidence that Microsoft was unlikely to benefit from restricting access to the successful franchise. Call of duty On competing consoles such as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation.
Read: FTC asks court to block Activision purchase by Microsoft
The pressure has intensified on Microsoft as it fights on multiple fronts in the United States and Europe to persuade watchdogs to approve the deal, the company’s largest and one of the 30 largest acquisitions of all time.
The CMA’s initial position was that the merger could lead to higher prices, fewer choice and less innovation for UK players. He proposed a number of solutions, including selling Call of duty from Activision or block the deal altogether. The agency said it would consider other alternatives that would protect competitors’ access to the successful game.
In its findings on Friday, the CMA concluded that after reviewing more data, the sell strategy Call of duty “It would not be profitable at all in any plausible scenario.”
The investigation’s narrow focus echoes a similar move across the European Union, where the bloc is said to focus solely on cloud gaming services.
“We appreciate the CMA’s rigorous and comprehensive review of the evidence and welcome its updated interim findings,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
A spokesman for Sony, which has publicly opposed the settlement in the CMA investigation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Activision spokesperson said: “Sony’s campaign to protect its dominance by preventing our merger cannot elude the facts, and Microsoft has already come up with effective, actionable solutions to address every remaining CMA concern.” “We know this business will benefit UK competition, innovation and consumers.”
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