BREAKING: CMA afviser Microsofts køb af Activision Blizzard

Den britiske konkurrence- og markedsstyrelse, CMA, har valgt at blokere Microsoft i at købe Activision Blizzard. Der har været megen spekulation de sidste par dage over CMAs afgørelse, som er blevet afgjort i dag. I en pressemeddelelse skriver den britiske myndighed:

"The CMA has prevented Microsoft's proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come." (Via gov.uk)

Myndigheden uddyber, at handlen vil være skadelig for forbrugere i Storbritannien, og forhindre sund konkurrence i branchen:
"Microsoft entered into a $68.7 billion deal to buy Activision, one of the most popular video games publishers in the world, in January 2022. The CMA launched an in-depth review of the deal in September 2022, and in February 2023 provisionally found that the merger could make Microsoft even stronger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in this growing market."

Myndigheden lægger også meget vægt på "cloud gaming", og hvilken rolle Microsoft spiller i det. CMA mener, at Microsoft er for stærkt positioneret på dette punkt, og at det vil have store konsekvenser for cloud gaming, hvis de gennemførte deres køb af Activision Blizzard:
"Microsoft has a strong position in cloud gaming services and the evidence available to the CMA showed that Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make Activision's games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service.
The deal would reinforce Microsoft's advantage in the market by giving it control over important gaming content such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. The evidence available to the CMA indicates that, absent the merger, Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms in the foreseeable future."

Du kan læse hele pressemeddelelsen her.