The attempted merger with Activision Blizzard KIng has caused many concerns for Microsoft, especially in relation to the British video game market, as the UK CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has been one of the biggest opponents of the transaction.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, spoke about the recent approval of the merger by the European Commission and how the possible final blockade of the CMA could impact video games in the future.

In a recent interview, Satya Nadella commented that the decision by the competition authority in the United Kingdom, the CMA, surprised the company, as it is an opportunity to make the industry more competitive, but prefers to wait before talking about a future in which they will be forced to treat the UK as an isolated market.

The fundamental logic of this business to increase competition and bring more opportunities to publishers and gamers still holds. So as far as I’m concerned, let’s keep going, we have a process, obviously we respect the sovereignty of the UK and the CMA to decide what’s good for the country.

When asked about the possibility of a future where we will have a presence of Activision Blizzard in the US and Europe, but not in the UK, Nadella replied that “let’s wait and see how things play out”.

This was not as firm a response as many would have liked, suggesting the company is still weighing the possibility of moving the deal forward without the UK. Anyway, a recent study revealed that the UK has the second largest base of Xbox players in the world, which means that if Microsoft decides to give up the region, it could also give even more dominance to Sony and Nintendo.

Will the UK let its guard down or go ahead with the lockdown?