According to a new document from the United Kingdom government, Microsoft tried to purchase a mobile game publisher prior to attempting to buy Activision Blizzard. The document is heavily redacted, however, so we may never know the company in question or the timeline for when Microsoft was pursuing this mysterious deal.
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority said in its final report (via VGC) about Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision Blizzard that Microsoft tried to buy a mobile game publisher as part of its effort to get a foothold in the mobile games space. The document says Microsoft “attempted to buy [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] and said [REDACTED].”
The redactions are frustrating, but they are not out of the ordinary. Companies like Microsoft are allowed to keep certain information private in business deals like this.