Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft has been a hot topic since the announcement. After stockholders voted in favor of the acquisition, all eyes were turned to UK and EU regulators.
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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided to set a deadline of March 1 2023 to announce the verdict. This decision puts CMA’s decision five months after EU regulators’ decision deadline.
Parties’ final deadline to send in all responses and submissions is February 2023.
To avoid monopoly, regulators step in and inspect acquisitions and mergers. Activision Blizzard already has very few rivals with their IPs. World of Warcraft has been dominating the MMORPG scene for almost 20 years, and Call of Duty is a monster on its own.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has been criticized by many including PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan. Microsoft might decide to release Activision Blizzard games only on Xbox and PC might hinder the sales on PlayStation market since Activision Blizzard has a massive catalog including games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Call of Duty.
Sony even said, “Call of Duty alone is bigger than most other AAA game studios,” which affects players’ choice of gaming console. CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, said they would honor the previous agreement and keep Call of Duty available on all platforms after the merger. He stated that they would want more players, not less.
Activision Blizzard’s mobile game Diablo Immortal crossed the $100 million threshold in the summer. The company’s successful IPs will also have new games out by the end of 2022. Overwatch 2 has just been launched ın October 4, and World of Warcraft’s latest expansion pack, Dragonflight, will be out on November 28.
