Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal has been under scrutiny in various regions, including the UK, the European Union (EU) and the US. Earlier this month, a report suggested that Microsoft is set to win EU approval on the $69 billion deal and now, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has softened its stance on the acquisition.
The CMA has ‘provisionally concluded’ that Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition “will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in console gaming services because the cost to Microsoft of withholding Call of Duty (COD) from PlayStation would outweigh any gains from taking such action.”

Here’s what CMA has to say
“Having considered the additional evidence provided, we have now provisionally concluded that the merger will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in console gaming services because the cost to Microsoft of withholding Call of Duty from PlayStation would outweigh any gains from taking such action,” said Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting the investigation.
Coleman also said that the concerns in the cloud gaming market are not affected by the announcement. The investigation in this matter will be completed by the end of April and final report is due by April 26, 2023.

The development comes a week after reports suggested that the CMA was of a view that Microsoft may withhold Call of Duty from PlayStation and it would be profitable for the company. Microsoft submitted a response saying that CMA’s financial modelling was flawed.
Microsoft’s four 10-year deals
The company has repeatedly said that the deal will help it to bring a string of games to 150 million people. It has also announced a total of four 10-year deals with Nintendo, Nvidia, Ukraine-based cloud gaming platform Boosteroid and Ubitus, a Japanese leading cloud gaming provider.