The Activision game “Call of Duty” is pictured in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 18, 2022.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
LONDON – The UK’s competition regulator on Friday said it was extending the deadline for review Microsoftwill take over Activision Blizzard’s video game publisher in six weeks.
The extension will give the watchdog more time to consider the two sides’ proposals to address their concerns after halting the campaign to block the deal.
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“The investigation team decided to extend it by six weeks… as they considered there were exceptional reasons for doing so. Therefore, the revised period will end on August 29, 2023,” the agency said. UK market and competition authority said friday.
The UK regulator has been a strong opponent of Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, completely blocking the deal in April due to competition fears in the nascent cloud gaming market.
The CMA appeared to have softened its tone earlier in the week, signaling that it was ready to continue discussions with tech giant Redmond.
“We stand ready to consider any proposal from Microsoft to restructure the transaction in a way that would address the concerns outlined in our Final Report,” a CMA spokesperson told CNBC. by email on Tuesday.
The CMA’s concerns centered on Microsoft’s ability to create Activision games exclusively for its own platform, as the tech giant sets its sights on the budding cloud gaming market — a technology that allows users to effectively use game streaming on remote servers, such as Netflix viewers do with a movie.
Many of the concessions Microsoft made to the CMA have so far been fruitless. In February, the CMA countered with an announcement of potential remedies, including the sale of a unit related to its flagship game Call of Duty and the divestment of some of Activision Blizzard’s businesses.
The deal has also faced resistance in the United States, but appears to have gained traction in the states earlier this week after the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of two companies. company. Since then, the US Federal Tracing Commission on Wednesday file an appeal decided to deny the request for a preliminary restraining order, which could prevent the transaction from being completed.
