Just when it looked like the UK regulator was finally going to relent and allow the takeover, the reverse finally happened.
More than a year has passed since what for many is the the biggest news in the history of video games, What was that The purchase of ActivisionBlizzard from Microsoft. This was going to mean many changes in the industry, thus being a historic move that cost Xbox’s parent company $69 billion. Of course, it was such a large purchase that it had to go through various bureaucratic processes.
Among them, as you know, regulators in several countries had to accept the purchase after reviewing it, in order to avoid large corporate monopolies are formed which reduce competition, thereby causing harm to the consumer. And there was a regulatory body that put a lot of pressure on the acquisition of ActivisionBlizzard from Microsoft.
Farewell to the purchase between Microsoft and Activision
The gate VGC reported all statements both by the CMA (the UK regulator) as well as Microsoft.
- The main thing is that he CMA rejected the acquisition of Activision from Microsoft
- This means that the purchase, which was to take place definitively in the summer of 2023, has been blocked and cannot be executed
What will happen now?
At this time, what we know is that the purchase cannot be made. However, Microsoft he will not sit idly by. In a statement, the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, assured that they are “disappointed” and They will appeal the decision which could lead the British regulator to review the acquisition.