Activision Blizzard purchase faces new investigation

Initially announced earlier this year, it seems that the closing of the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is reluctant to take place, full of constant problems that threaten to cancel it. Thus, although the shareholders of Activision Blizzard itself were in favor of the acquisition, both Microsoft itself as well as other external agents still have some doubts.

And it is that the new participant in adding obstacles to this agreement has been the UK Competition and Markets Authority (or CMA) bodywhich, as reported by CNBC, has opened a new investigation into the operation, establishing one of the first important antitrust investigations.

According to this research, this agreement could have a strong (negative) impact on the video game industry for the fact of delivering large franchises such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Warcraft, to one of the largest technology companies in the world, for which the authority responsible for markets and competition will analyze the situation «considering whether the deal may harm competition and lead to worse outcomes for consumers, such as higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice«. Although we have seen this type of investigation on other occasions, such as Microsoft’s own purchase of Bethesda, each new acquisition adds an additional argument.

So that, the CMA has set the deadline for its final resolution on September 1, although it has communicated that it will accept to receive comments from interested parties, with a consultation open until July 20. For its part, Microsoft has been quite positive, assuring that they will cooperate fully, sending the message that “we continue to trust that the agreement will close in fiscal year 2023 as initially anticipated.” Nevertheless, analysts are noticeably more skeptical about the chances of regulators approving a deal.