Microsoft Says It Will Pause Its Appeal Efforts Against UK Regulator Over Activision Acquisition To Negotiate

A Californian judge has denied the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s request today for a preliminary order in their case against Microsoft and Xbox to prevent them from acquiring Activision Blizzard. Microsoft, soon after the decision, announced that they would suspend their appeals against the Competition and Markets Authority of the U.K. in order to engage with the CMA. 

Microsoft was blocked from buying Activision Blizzard by the UK’s regulatory authority in April due to concerns about cloud gaming. Microsoft’s deadline to acquire Activision Blizzard is July 18. To meet this deadline, Microsoft will either need to remove the U.K. as a market for the purchase or work out a deal to satisfy the CMA. Microsoft was originally scheduled to appear before the CMA on July 28 to contest their decision. Microsoft’s vice-chair and president Brad Smith said that this will not happen now, as both parties are trying to reach a compromise that is acceptable to them. 

Our focus is now on the U.K. after today’s U.S. Court decision. Although we disagree with CMA’s concerns we are examining how to change the transaction to satisfy the CMA. Microsoft and Activision, with CMA’s approval, have decided that it would be best to put these plans first. They have also submitted a joint application to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. 

As noted by The Verge The former is incredibly unlikely. The statement was received by The VergeThe CMA stated that it was “ready to accept any proposal from Microsoft that would restructure this transaction to address our concerns as set out in our Final Report”, likely referring to Microsoft’s concerns about cloud gaming. 

Game Informer has reached out to the CMA for a statement regarding Smith’s announcement and will update the story if a comment or statement is received. 

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