UK Government Investigating Xbox’s Activision Buyout Further

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has today revealed its investigation into Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision requires more time in a “phase two” study. The initial findings have raised concerns about how “Microsoft could use its control over popular games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft post-merger to harm rivals, including recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming”.

If the authority’s concerns aren’t addressed, it will move on to the aforementioned “phase two investigation” where it will “reach a decision that works in the interests of UK gamers and businesses”. The worries are pointed at how Microsoft could refuse access to Activision games for current and new companies in the gaming industry, or provide “access on much worse terms”.

In the short term, the CMA believes Sony would be most affected by the buyout due to sharing a lot of the same content and target market. It also notes how since Sony has a larger market share in the UK than Microsoft, this may “significantly impact Sony’s revenues and user base. This impact is likely to be felt especially at the launch of the next generation of consoles, where gamers make fresh decisions about which console to buy. The CMA believes that the Merger could, therefore, significantly weaken Microsoft’s closest rival, to the detriment of overall competition in console gaming.”