The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been opposed to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but in the U.S. Trade Commission (FTC) appeal against the failure of Microsoft, the British CMA for Activision Blizzard acquisition case attitude has softened.
After the US FTC appeal failed again, the UK CMA announced last week that it would extend the review deadline by six weeks, originally scheduled for 18 July, now adjusted to 29 August.
According to The Verge, Microsoft has submitted a new document to the UK CMA to urge it to revisit the deal and approve it as soon as possible.
▲ The relevant documents flowing from Microsoft, image source The Verge
Microsoft is reported to have recently signed a deal with cloud gaming company NWare in exchange for the company’s support in court. This comes after Microsoft made similar deals with companies such as NVIDIA and Boosteroid when they were under investigation by EU regulators.
A few days ago, Microsoft also signed a new contract with Sony for “Call of Duty”, so the foreign media speculated that in the future, Microsoft and the British CMA, the U.S. FTC in the circle, Sony should maintain a neutral attitude.
Microsoft itself, according to the agreement signed, asked the British CMA to “re-evaluate the ‘Activision Blizzard acquisition case'”.
In addition, Microsoft is also working on a final proposal for the acquisition documents to address the CMA’s concerns more directly, which may involve selling some of Microsoft’s cloud gaming rights in the UK.
From Microsoft’s recent actions, it can be seen that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard can be said to be “desperate”, but whether the UK CMA “cares” about these actions of Microsoft, it will take time to judge.
