UK Regulators Sets March 2023 Deadline for Decision on Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 04 October 2022 / 4,578 Views
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK has set a deadline of March 1, 2023 to publish its final report and decision on Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition. This is part of its more in-depth Phase 2 investigation.
In December of this year the CMA will hold main party hearings, verify information, and consider provisional findings. It is also the deadline for all parties' responses and submissions before the provisional findings.
The UK regulators in January 2023 will notify provisional findings and possible remedies if required. it will also hold response hearings. February 2023 will be the final deadline for all parties' responses and submissions.
The CMA has previously expressed concerns as the acquisition would give Microsoft control over some of the most popular games in the industry like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
"Following our Phase 1 investigation, we are concerned that 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," said the senior director of mergers at the CMA Sorcha O’Carroll at the time.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.