Microsoft is gearing up to potentially overcome a significant hurdle in its acquisition of Activision Blizzard: the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The regulator, which works to reduce anti-competitive practices in the UK, had previously launched an investigation into the $69 billion deal, and released its provisional findings back in February. At the time, the CMA was concerned about a number of aspects of the deal including potential monopolization of the cloud gaming market, possible Xbox exclusivity of Call of Duty, and reduction of competition with PlayStation.
However, last month, the CMA released a statement saying one of its key concerns had been addressed, determining that if Xbox made Call of Duty exclusive, it would ultimately cost the company money. And in the last several days, multiple reports have emerged suggesting that the CMA is likely to approve the deal when it issues its ruling tomorrow.
The New York Post in particular says the deal has made “surprising progress” in both the UK and the EU recently thanks to Microsoft’s promises to give both Sony and Nintendo access to Call of Duty long-term.
The deal isn’t quite done
Should the CMA approve the acquisition, it would still face challenging in other regions, most notably the EU and the United States. While EU and UK approval would potentially sway the US’s Federal Trade Commission into ruling similarly, legal experts speaking to IGN are divided as to what the FTC is likely to do when preliminary hearings begin in August. The New York Post’s reporting on the CMA’s presumed ruling, however, suggests that a likely victory in the UK would only make Microsoft more aggressive in its battle overseas. “They are going to cram this down the FTC’s throats,” one source said.
The CMA’s decision will arrive just a day after Microsoft’s Q3 earnings report, which today shows gaming revenue down 4% to $3.6 billion, Xbox content and services revenue up 3% thanks to Game Pass growth, and Xbox hardware revenue down 30% thanks to a prior year comparable elevated by increased console supply after pandemic shortages.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
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