The deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will be further inspected by EU and UK regulators

By: Anton Kratiuk | 16.09.2022, 12:01

The gaming industry's "deal of the century" continues to be reviewed. Regulators are still investigating the legality of Microsoft's purchase of publisher Activision Blizzard.

Here's What We Know

It seems that the scrutiny may be significantly delayed because, as the Financial Times reports, regulators in Britain and the European Union have joined the case. They are concerned that the merger of companies could interfere with healthy competition in the gaming market. The stumbling block is the Call of Duty franchise. Members of the regulatory commission noted that the game series is important for the entire industry and is extremely popular among PlayStation users.

Microsoft has not provided, at the request of the Commission, proof that the deal does not harm competition. For its part, Sony - the main competitor of Xbox - publicly supported additional verification of the discussed deal and said that it (potentially) could harm both gamers and gaming companies.

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer initially reported that Microsoft intends to extend the Call of Duty agreement to the PlayStation, and generally isn't going to make the shooter an exclusive on its platforms.

Who is calm and confident about the deal is Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.