The Activision game “Call of Duty” photographed at a store in Manhattan, New York City, USA on January 18, 2022.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
LONDON — The UK competition regulator announced on Friday that it will extend the review deadline. microsoftacquired video game publisher Activision Blizzard in six weeks.
The extension will give the watchdog more time to consider the parties’ proposals to resolve their concerns after suspending the anti-deal campaign.
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“The research group believes there are special reasons and has decided to extend it by six weeks. The revision period will therefore end on 29 August 2023,” the UK Competition and Markets Authority said. said on friday.
UK regulators are adamantly opposed to Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, having blanketly blocked the deal in April citing competition concerns in the nascent cloud gaming market.
The CMA appeared to soften earlier in the week, suggesting it was ready to resume talks with the Redmond tech giant.
A CMA spokesperson told CNBC in an email on Tuesday that it was “ready to consider proposals from Microsoft to restructure the deal in a way that addresses the concerns set forth in the final report.” Told.
The CMA’s concerns center around the possibility of Microsoft dedicating Activision games to its platform. The tech giants have their sights set on the up-and-coming cloud gaming market. This technology allows users to effectively stream games on remote servers. Netflix Viewers watch movies.
Microsoft’s multiple concession offers to the CMA have so far failed to bear fruit. The CMA countered in February by announcing possible bailouts, including the sale of a division related to the classic game Call of Duty and the sale of part of the Activision Blizzard business.
The partnership was met with opposition in the United States, but appears to be gaining traction in the United States after the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of both companies earlier this week. Since then, the US Federal Tracking Commission has filed an appeal on Wednesday against its decision to deny a request for a preliminary injunction preventing the deal from completing.
