--- title: "In-depth UK Antitrust Probe to be Faced by Microsoft-Activation Deal" description: "Microsoft had planned $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. which would be sent for an in-depth review unless the tech giant would provide" author: "Siddhi Shaw" published: 2022-09-02 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/news/1955/in-depth-uk-antitrust-probe-to-be-faced-by-microsoft-activation-deal category: "microsoft" tags: ["microsoft", "technology", "gaming laptops"] reading_time: 3 minutes --- # In-depth UK Antitrust Probe to be Faced by Microsoft-Activation Deal **Microsoft** had planned **$69 billion** purchase of **Activision Blizzard Inc**. which would be sent for an in-depth review unless the [tech](https://www.mindstick.com/services/technologies) giant would provide remedies to address the **UK watchdog’s issues**. ``` HIGHLIGHTSA deadline was given to Microsoft in order to come to an acceptable agreementCombination with Activision owns Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Guitar HeroThe British agency has taken a lot forceful approach on recent deals ``` On **Thursday**, the **Competition and Markets Authority** had mentioned that it was concerned regarding a substantial decrease of competition within the gaming consoles, multi-game [subscription](https://www.mindstick.com/news/3093/meta-launches-quest-subscription-for-vr-headsets) services and [cloud gaming](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/102550/explain-the-basics-of-google-s-project-stream-for-cloud-gaming) markets. A deadline of **September 8** was given to [Microsoft](https://www.mindstick.com/news/1946/microsoft-s-cloud-computing-changes-would-slam-amazon-and-google) in order to come to an acceptable agreement with the agency. The combination with Activision, that would own some of the popular franchises which would include **Call of Duty**, **World of Warcraft** and **Guitar Hero**. It had created Microsoft the world’s third-largest gaming company and would boost the **Xbox** maker’s roster of titles for its **Game Pass** subscribers. The **CMA** in a statement has mentioned that it was concerned that Microsoft may use Activision’s games along with its own strength within the console, cloud and **PC** [operating systems](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/332551/operating-systems-trends-and-innovations-in-2023) market to break competition within the developing cloud market. **Sorcha O’Carroll**, the senior director of mergers have mentioned that “**We were worried that Microsoft may use its control over [popular games](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/2885/most-popular-games-in-the-world) like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft post-merger to hurt rivals, along with recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming**.” The **British** agency has taken a lot forceful approach on recent deals, significantly by the largest technology companies. Microsoft has declared that it had been purchasing the Activision in **January** in what was the largest ever [gaming](https://www.mindstick.com/news/1379/wazirx-co-founder-siddharth-menon-joins-supergaming-and-will-focus-on-web3) industry deal. Microsoft's **President and Vice Chairperson Brad Smith** has mentioned that “**We were all ready to work with the CMA on next steps and address any of this concerns**.' The person added “**Sony being the industry leader mentioned that it was worried about the Call of Duty, however we had mentioned that we were committed to creating a similar game which was available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation**.” The CMA had joined different world regulators which would include the **US Federal Trade Commission** in examining the deal and previously it had mentioned that it was working collectively to review the tie-up. Regulators were seemingly to appear closely at how the Microsoft’s ownership of Activision may hurt rivals by limiting their access to the company’s biggest games. The deal was automatically referred as in-depth [investigation](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2149/twitter-claims-in-court-that-elon-musk-is-the-subject-of-government-investigations) [if Microsoft](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/95971/how-can-i-fix-it-if-microsoft-edge-is-not-working) would not provide any appropriate proposals. A CMA phase 2 review would permits for a lot thorough investigation of internal information and document requests. Also Read: [A Bad News for the XboX Users by Microsoft](https://www.mindstick.com/news/1722/a-bad-news-for-the-xbox-users-by-microsoft) --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/news/1955/in-depth-uk-antitrust-probe-to-be-faced-by-microsoft-activation-deal Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.