The United Kingdom’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released its provisional report on Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and it doesn’t read like good news for Microsoft and others who want to see the deal go through. The CMA said it has “provisionally concluded” that the buyout “could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers.” The CMA also outlined potential ways for Microsoft to have the deal approved, and one is divesting of the Call of Duty business.
In a press release, the CMA said its investigation found that the deal “raises concerns about cloud and console gaming,” going on to state that the merger could make Microsoft “even stronger in cloud gaming.” This, in turn, could stifle competition and harm UK gamers unable to afford “expensive consoles.” The report went on to provisionally state that the deal, in its current form, “could also harm UK gamers by weakening the important rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles.”
The provisional report is based on what the CMA called a “wide-ranging investigation” that took place over the past five months. Business leaders at Microsoft and Xbox spoke with the CMA, and the group analyzed more than three million internal documents from both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to “understand their views on the market.” The CMA also said it commissioned an independent survey of UK gamers and spoke with other publishers and cloud gaming service providers as part of making its decision.