Microsoft’s $69 billion deal Buying Activision Blizzard came closer on Friday in big steps. UK regulators issued a preliminary finding that the acquisition would not harm competition, despite previously indicating the Xbox maker would need to spin off the call of Duty shop to have the sale approved.
The British competition and market surveillance authority was initially skeptical about Microsoft’s commitments hold the military shooter available on PlayStation consoles for many years, arguing there might be a financial incentive to take the blockbuster series off the platform in the future. That’s what the CMA says now after receiving more information about it call of Duty Player spending, it’s clear that Microsoft would lose a lot of money if the series was made exclusive to Xbox.
“The CMA Inquiry Group has updated its preliminary findings and has come to the preliminary conclusion that the transaction as a whole will not lead to a material reduction in competition in relation to console games in the United Kingdom,” it wrote in a press release
While the CMA’s original analysis indicated that this strategy would be profitable in most scenarios, new data (providing better insight into actual buying behavior of cod Gamer) points out that this strategy would incur significant losses in any plausible scenario. Based on this, the updated analysis now shows that it would not be commercially advantageous for Microsoft to do so cod exclusive to Xbox after the deal, but that Microsoft will still have incentive to continue making the game available on PlayStation instead.
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The CMA is still reviewing Game Pass
The regulatory authority is still investigating the cloud gaming side of the dealwhose final judgment/decision is not due until April 26th. call of Duty seemed to be the biggest sticking point in the CMA’s skepticism about the deal, and Microsoft appears to have tentatively allayed those fears. It has also been busy bolstering its defenses on the cloud gaming front Closing deals with several smaller competitors to ensure its first-party games are available on other services if the deal goes through.
A big question remains as to what a final deal between Microsoft and Sony will look like. An Activision spokesman previously claimed that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan was unwilling to negotiate. He stated his only goal was to permanently end the acquisition. As that outcome looks increasingly unlikely, it seems that the PS5 maker will have no choice but to work out the details of Microsoft’s 10th anniversary call of Duty
Continue reading: Xbox Can’s PS5 version of Big Game despite all the talk about player choice
Determining the availability of Activision Blizzard games such as DiabloIV and an upcoming one black ops The sequel to Game Pass competitor PS Plus will play a key role in this. In its recent argument to the CMA, pushing back Sony’s concerns, Microsoft went so far as to suggest that 10 years was enough time to go do it Yourself call of Duty competitor if it was so worried about losing it.
In the meantime, Microsoft has yet to seek approval from European regulators and deal with an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission. But investors seem more excited than ever about the deal. Activision Blizzard’s stock price soared to $85 per share following the CMA’s recent announcement, more than at any time since the acquisition was announced.
This is the highest value the company has had since its inception sued for allegedly widespread sexual harassment and discrimination.
