The British antitrust regulator CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has issued a response to the decision of the European Union to authorize the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
In a frankly slightly strange development, the CMA felt the need to double down on its decision. On twitterhighlighting the alleged damage that the agreement would inflict on competition in the cloud market and reiterating its rejection of Microsoft’s proposals.
“UK, US and European competition authorities are unanimous that this merger would harm competition in cloud gaming. The CMA concluded that cloud gaming must continue as a free and competitive market to drive innovation and choice in this rapidly evolving industry.
Microsoft’s proposals, accepted today by the European Commission, would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions of this market for the next 10 years.
They would replace a free, open, and competitive marketplace with one subject to continued regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms it sells them to, and the terms of sale.
This is one of the reasons why the CMA’s independent panel rejected Microsoft’s proposals and prevented this deal. While we recognize and respect that the European Commission has the right to take a different point of view, the CMA stands by its decision.”
For now, despite the earlier claim of a “unanimous” position, the CMA is isolated in its ruling against the deal, with the US FTC matching its opposition, but having to go through a legal process to block it.
On the other hand, several national antitrust authorities have already approved the agreement. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out, as Microsoft has pledged to appeal against the CMA’s decision and with ongoing lawsuits in the US. Of course, we’ll keep you posted here at TechRaptor if anything relevant is shared.