The UK blocked it on the grounds that it would interfere with competition in the emerging cloud gaming market, while Microsoft gave the reason that the official assessment of Microsoft’s cloud gaming services was “fundamentally flawed” because it did not take into account local gaming competition.
Microsoft said it will challenge the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) understanding of the cloud gaming market.
Rima Alaily, Microsoft’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said the CMA’s decision “was made for a number of reasons, including its overestimation of the role of cloud streaming in the gaming market and our position in it, and its unwillingness to consider solutions that had overwhelming industry and public support.
“We are confident in our attractiveness and the binding commitments we have made to promote competition in the market and bring more choice to players.”
Earlier this month, EU competition regulators approved the deal after they accepted Microsoft’s proposed remedies, which were broadly comparable to those it had proposed in the UK.
Microsoft also appealed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) attempt to block the deal, which the FTC blocked also on the grounds that the deal would inhibit competition.
The CMA reiterated its position on Friday. We banned the deal out of concern that it would reduce innovation and choice in the U.K. cloud gaming market,” a spokesman said. We will defend our position in court.”
