The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked a deal to buy game developer Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. Its amount was supposed to be $ 68.7 billion. The CMA said they were concerned about the possible reduction in innovation and distortion of competition in the video game market that the deal could entail.
The panel that considered the deal said it was "vital" to protect competition in the "evolving and exciting market" for cloud gaming. Commission chairman Martin Coleman believes the deal will strengthen Microsoft's position and block advancement opportunities for its new competitors. “Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive marketplace to drive innovation and choice. The easiest way to achieve this is to let the current competitive momentum in cloud gaming continue to do its job,” he added.
Microsoft and Blizzard disagreed with the decision and said they would appeal. The representative of the developer stressed that the UK's decision is contrary to its own desire to become "an attractive country for creating a technology business."
“The CMA decision rejects a pragmatic approach to tackling competition issues and hinders technological innovation and investment in the United Kingdom. <…> We are especially disappointed that, after much deliberation, this decision seems to reflect a misunderstanding of this market and how the corresponding cloud technology actually works,” said Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft.
Activision Blizzard is one of the largest video game development companies. She owns such cult releases as Call of Duty, Diablo and Warcraft. In January 2022, it became known about the purchase of the studio by Microsoft. This deal should be the largest for the world of video games. In addition to the UK, it must be approved by US and EU regulators, but now the deal is under threat.