UK latest to oppose Microsoft's Activision buyout, claims it will "harm gamers"

The UK is the latest country to oppose Microsoft’s purchase of Activision. Government watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, has revealed its provisional findings on the deal and has concluded that it would be bad for UK gamers. In fact, it even claims it could harm them.

Itsopposition isn’t unexpected. Microsoft’s legal team was already preparing for the CMA to post its concerns over the $69 billion buyout. After all, the decision in the UK follows similar action by the EU’s equivalent regulatory body and a lawsuit by the FTC in the US. However, the wording used by the CMA might come as more of a shock.

It claims to have spoken directly toMicrosoftandActivision, analysed over three million documents provided by the two companies, and surveyed UK gamers before reaching its conclusions. It also spoke with “other gaming console providers”, publishers and cloud gaming service providers.

This lead it to believe that the deal could give Microsoft an unfair advantage in cloud gaming, by including Call of Duty and other Activision games on its Cloud Gaming with Xbox Game Pass service to stream. It will also “stifle competition”, it says, and even harm UK gamers that “cannot afford expensive consoles”.

The CMA also states that there is indication that Microsoft would “find it commercially beneficial to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own consoles” or available to PlayStation under “materially worse conditions”.

Microsoft has indicated in the past that it offered Sony a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for the forthcoming decade, but hasn’t yet confirmed whether it will also offer the same new games as part ofXbox Game Pass. This means PlayStation owners would have to pay full price for new releases but those with Xbox consoles would get them as part of their monthly subscription, along with 100s of other games.

The provisional findings don’t necessarily block the deal, though. As the CMA states, “We have… today sent the companies an explanation of how our concerns might be resolved, inviting their views and any alternative proposals they wish to submit.”

We know that Microsoft has been keen to work with the CMA on a resolution, so we await the next step.