Xbox and Activision
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, which should bring the group among the first party of Xbox, is becoming a real hot potato. Beyond the poorest countries, such as Serbia or Brazil or non-democratic ones, such as Saudi Arabia, most of the Western world is trying to take time to better evaluate this deal. And the feeling, after the latest move by the British government, is that no one wants to be the first to take responsibility for approving or denying the acquisition, perhaps almost fearing a domino effect.
The stages of the Activision acquisition Blizzard by Microsoft have now suffered referrals practically all over the world . In fact, in the last hours of yesterday, the CMA (UK regulator) decided to postpone its judgment once again, inviting Sony and Microsoft to a new round of consultations. The British antitrust is now expected to give its ruling on April 26, 2023, but the situation is taking on increasingly less clear outlines.
In addition to the CMA, the Australian and European Union antitrust authorities also continued to delay their verdict. And there are probably some very good reasons to avoid expressing yourself hastily. If one of the regulatory bodies approves or denies the acquisition, it would trigger a domino effect, which could lead to a series of green light or a total block of the deal.
However, the situation is worse in the United States, where Microsoft is in serious danger of ending up in court and where, as of today, it finds itself facing a battle with the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission. It was precisely the USA that expressed itself more harshly towards Xbox and the strategy of acquisitions. At this point, the feeling is that the deal can no longer close within this summer, but will probably continue for almost the whole year.
GameDivision is also waiting for you on YouTube: you can subscribe to our channel by visiting this address.