It seems Microsoft's assurances to regulators didn't work after all.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently announced it would be moving the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft to its second phase to investigate it thoroughly.
Microsoft previously wanted to avoid this development through the blog post it previously published at the start of September, which was assuring regulators that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard would benefit everyone.
UK Competition and Markets Authority Referral Details
The CMA mentioned in its announcement that it is referring to the upcoming acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for an "in-depth investigation" (or Phase 2, as the CMA calls it); it believes the deal may negatively affect the UK market by " a substantial lessening of competition."
This decision follows the CMA's intention of investigating the acquisition deal on Sept. 1, which gave Blizzard the chance to offer "acceptable undertakings" to address the regulator's concerns over the acquisition.
The CMA also gave Microsoft until Sept. 8 to do so, but the company declined, leading to the regulator referring the issue to its second phase, per Engadget.
As a result, Microsoft can expect a significant delay to the merger deal it has with Activision Blizzard, with the CMA possibly demanding Microsoft more compromises for the merger to go through.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's President, mentioned the company is prepared to cooperate with the CMA to have the merger proceed and to address its concerns on the matter. He also reiterated Microsoft's stance in its previous blog post, saying that it wants people to have "more access to games, not less.
You may remember that Microsoft Gaming's CEO, Phil Spencer, published a blog post saying that it is committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day it launches elsewhere.
It also showed how beneficial its acquisition of Activision Blizzard is for the gaming industry, citing its acquisition of Mojang Studios and its Minecraft game, which continues to be available on multiple platforms.
"We believe that a thorough review will show that the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the [gaming] industry and players," Spencer said in the blog post. "For all the players and game developers out there, you remain at the center of everything we do, and we will continue to listen to your feedback and do everything we can to nurture this industry we all love."
Sony's Reaction To CMA's Decision
Sony mentioned in an emailed statement to GamesIndustry.biz that it welcomes the CMA's decision to further investigate Microsoft's acquisition of Microsoft.
According to the popular tech giant, the acquisition deal would have "major negative implications" for gamers and the gaming industry's future.
"We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality gaming experience, and we appriciate the CMA's focus on protecting gamers," Sony added.
Sony previously called Microsoft's offer to let Call of Duty remain on the PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and itself had ended as "inadequate."
The company said that the deal failed to consider the period's impact on gamers using PlayStation consoles.
