Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard has been cleared by the US courts, but the green light remains from the UK authorities. The country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said a restructured deal between the two companies could resolve the backlog, but the body would need to invest. The announcement was made by the CMA shortly after Microsoft’s victory against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to the British official, new terms may satisfy their concerns. This, however, is not guaranteed: the business would undergo further investigation by the entity.
Following the US court’s decision on Tuesday (11), which refused a request for an injunction from the FTC to suspend the purchase, Microsoft and CMA announced their intention to negotiate ways to lift the blockade in the UK. This only happened after the company agreed to pause the appeal filed in the country’s courts.
Microsoft will have to make structural changes to the deal
The CMA’s position is that Microsoft can’t just come up with behavioral remedies. This means that promising that Call of Duty will be available for other platforms, for example, will not be enough. The change would have to be structural, that is, a definitive transfer of rights or assets.
While other antitrust authorities have focused on the issue of exclusive titles, such as the aforementioned Call of Duty, and their availability for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, the CMA has blocked the purchase for another reason.
The agency believes that the purchase of Activision Blizzard will put Microsoft in an unfair position of advantage in the fledgling cloud gaming market.
According to CNBC, Microsoft and the CMA have agreed that a small divestiture (also called a divestment) may be enough to resolve the backlog. This could mean that Microsoft relinquishes control of Xbox Cloud Gaming in the region, or other services or products.gar again the acquisition.
