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Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Could Harm UK Gamers, Watchdog Finds

  • UK antitrust regulator makes provisional findings on tie-up
  • Microsoft will need to offer remedies to get the deal cleared
  Microsoft first announced the Activision deal last year.

 

Microsoft first announced the Activision deal last year.

Photographer: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg
Updated on

Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. will harm competition in the UK gaming market, Britain’s antitrust watchdog provisionally warned, saying it could force the selloff of the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it took an initial view that the deal could result in a substantial lessening in competition, higher prices, fewer choices or less innovation for UK gamers, according to a statement published Wednesday.