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Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been met with another hurdle as the antitrust regulator of the United Kingdom refused to give its approval. The antitrust watchdog has blocked the $69 billion takeover deal, which has been described as the biggest in the tech industry.
UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday, April 26, it is concerned that if allowed, Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard will lead to the reduction of innovation and choices for gamers in the region would be reduced as well in the years to come.
As per CNN Business, the competition regulator explained the deal will make Microsoft, even more, stronger in the cloud gaming space, which already holds about 60% to 70% market share around the world. The CMA also noted that the video game developer and publisher is one of the world’s biggest and owns many popular titles such as “Overwatch,” “World of Warcraft,” and “Call of Duty.”
“The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play,” the regulator said in a press release. “Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities.”
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are planning to appeal CMA’s decision at the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal. The companies will challenge it to gain the approval they have been seeking for. The latter’s CEO Booby Kotick said they have already started the paperwork for the appeal.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's vice chairman and president, Brad Smith, reportedly lashed out at the UK after the deal was disapproved. He told BBC News that the decision was "bad for Britain" and pushed the company to the "darkest day" in its four decades of operation in the region.
"It does more than shake our confidence in the future of the opportunity to grow a technology business in Britain than we have ever confronted before," Smith said. "People are shocked, people are disappointed, and people's confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken.”
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