{"id":12861,"date":"2023-04-26T15:16:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T15:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1395920"},"modified":"2023-04-26T15:16:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T15:16:59","slug":"closed-for-business-uk-competition-watchdog-blocks-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=12861","title":{"rendered":"\u201cClosed for business:\u201d UK competition watchdog blocks Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The UK\u2019s competition regulator has blocked Microsoft\u2019s $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the maker of world-renowned games including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.<\/p>\n

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said<\/a> it\u2019s concerned that the deal would tamper with the future of the rapidly-growing cloud gaming<\/a> market, resulting in reduced innovation and fewer choices for UK<\/a> gamers.<\/p>\n

According to the CMA, Microsoft, which already accounts for an estimated 60% to 70% of the global cloud gaming market, would further increase its advantage by making some of the world\u2019s most popular games exclusively available on its own platforms.<\/p>\n

The regulator also noted that without the merger Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms, which, in turn, would enable gamers to choose how they play without the need to buy expensive gaming consoles, such as Microsoft\u2019s Xbox.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicrosoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming and this deal would strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors,\u201d said<\/a> Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts who conducted the deal\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice. That is best achieved by allowing the current competitive dynamics in cloud gaming to continue to do their job,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In response, Microsoft\u2019s vice-chair and president Brad Smith said that the company remains \u201cfully committed\u201d to the acquisition and plans to appeal.<\/p>\n

\n

We remain fully committed to our acquisition with @ATVI_AB<\/a> and will appeal today\u2019s determination by the CMA. Here\u2019s our statement. pic.twitter.com\/ylvDP5RUqQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brad Smith (@BradSmi) April 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In an email<\/a> to Activision\u2019s employees, CEO Bobby Kotick noted that this is \u201cfar from the final word on this deal,\u201d stressing that it would boost the broader UK tech force and players around the world. The company characterised<\/a> CMA\u2019s decision as \u201cdisservice to UK citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects\u201d, adding that \u201cthe UK is clearly closed for business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The CMA is only the first of the three regulators that need to approve the deal for it to go through, but its decision might also impact the following respective bodies in the EU and the US. If the deal fails, Microsoft<\/a> will have to pay a break fee of $3bn.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s competition regulator has blocked Microsoft\u2019s $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the maker of world-renowned games including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}