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The UK CMA has published a statement regarding Microsoft\u2019s <\/strong>acquisition of Activision Blizzard<\/strong>, citing that its concerns with granting approval for the acquisition come from Microsoft\u2019s actions after it acquired ZeniMax<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThird parties told the CMA that Microsoft would benefit from making Activision\u2019s content exclusive to Game Pass, and that this would be consistent with Microsoft\u2019s behaviour in relation to past acquisitions, including that of ZeniMax Media, where Microsoft did not uphold its promise to continue making Bethesda content available on multiple stores and platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Call Of Duty<\/strong> is the franchise that\u2019s been brought up the most in regards to potentially holding up the deal, but it seems like the CMA is concerned beyond just the one franchise.<\/p>\n

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the UK’s CMA has published its issues statement on Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition. It says it’s looking closely at the effect of the deal on Xbox Game Pass. I think this could be a key concern for regulators, more so than the Call of Duty noise we’ve seen so far pic.twitter.com\/z6xbWbif2Y<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMost Game Pass rivals lack the popularity and range of content that Game Pass would own post-Merger. Given the importance of Activision\u2019s content, current and future rivals could be affected by any foreclosure strategies using that content.\u201d<\/p>\n

With these concerns it\u2019s beginning to grow more and more curious as to whether or not the acquisition will actually go through.<\/p>\n

Source \u2013 [Twitter]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n