Discussions about Microsoft's US$68.7 billion agreement to purchase Activion Blizzard are ongoing. Now the American platform holder has followed his CEO and Sony in response to the decision of the British Competition and Markets Authority to conduct an in-depth check of absorption.
CMA fears that Microsoft and Activisation Blizzard may harm PlayStation, subscription libraries, as well as Microsoft competitors in cloud-playing services :.
In a press statement, Microsoft described CMA's concerns about the Japanese platform holder as unjustified:
Microsoft also questioned the CMA assumption that Sony would not recover from the possible loss of one product, and accused the regulator of ignoring .
According to Microsoft, removing Call of Duty from PlayStation would dislodge fans and disfigure the franchise and Xbox brand. In doing so, Sony's leadership in the market would not be shaken even if all users of Call of Duty were to move from PlayStation to Xbox.
I'm sure of Microsoft.
Microsoft plans to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by June 30, 2023, but must first receive green light from a number of regulators. So far, a possible alliance has been approved only in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, and CMA promises to make a final decision before March 1.