UK antitrust claims Microsoft-Activision deal could damage gaming industry

The UK antitrust regulator has said that Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard could damage the gaming industry if Activision Blizzard refused to give competitors access to its popular games like ‘Call of Duty’ after the merger.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said, “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 recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming.”

The CMA also claimed that the deal could also harm competition in subscription services and cloud gaming. It added that the deal needed to be investigated in depth. The deal was announced in January and will require approval in the United States as well as other major jurisdictions including the European Union and China.

Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith said, “We want people to have more access to games, not less. Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about 'Call of Duty', but we've said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day Xbox and PlayStation

The deal is expected to close in 2023. It is reported that Microsoft would pay a $3 billion break-fee if the deal falls through. Analysts have explained the move as unsurprising and said that the deal would not be anti-competitive if competitors were given access to Microsoft games.