This afternoon, the CMA (United Kingdom) gave its first conclusions regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft and the least we can say is that the tide has still not turned in favor of Microsoft. The Redmond firm only took a few hours to provide us with an initial response following the conclusions of the British authority.
Microsoft Commits to Addressing CMA Requirements and Concerns
Those are the Reuters journalists who therefore shared the remarks made by Rima Alaily, vice president and deputy general counsel of Microsoft, in a press release issued this afternoon.
“We are committed to providing effective and easy-to-implement solutions to address CMA concerns.
Our long-term commitment to grant 100% equal access to ‘Call of Duty’ to Sony, Nintendo, Steam and others preserves the benefits of the agreement for gamers and developers and increases competition in the marketplace.”
Suffice to say that in such a situation, it would have been surprising to see Microsoft change its strategy while the American, European and now British authorities have officially expressed their disagreement with this colossal takeover.
For the CMA, the operation mainly raises concerns about cloud games and console games. “The merger could make Microsoft even stronger in the cloud gaming space, stifle competition in this growing market and hurt UK gamers who can’t afford expensive consoles.” »
The CMA’s findings and final report are due April 26, 2023 after the body explained last January that delaying its final report was necessary in the face of a “large volume of evidence, as well as submissions from the main parties and some thirds. »
To understand everything about the takeover of Activision by Microsoft, the issues and the timetable, we invite you to consult our complete file on the subject, or the video summary below.
