Call of Duty may be removed from the Microsoft Activision-Blizzard deal if Microsoft goes along with a suggestion from a U.K. regulator.
The merger has been under investigation by the Competition and Market Authority since July of last year which is attempting to discover whether the Microsoft/Activision-Blizzard merger would result in a monopoly situation.
The CMA suggests Call of Duty should be removed from the deal
In the report itself, the CMA stated that it has suggested three different options for a way to remedy any potential monopoly.
It suggests a “prohibition of the merger,” which would result in the Activision-Blizard merger being completely null and void, and “divestiture of a part of Activision’s business,” which would mean either selling off part of the business or selling off the section of the business that has Call of Duty, or “behavioral commitments by the Parties,” which could mean committing to non-exclusivity.
However, the CMA is also open to other options, as it states that it will “also invite submissions from interested parties on these initial views’. The final report on the legality of the acquisition is currently due by April 26 and will decide whether the deal should be allowed to go through.
In a statement to VGC, Microsoft said: “We are committed to offering effective and easily enforceable solutions that address the CMA’s concerns.
“Our commitment to grant long-term 100% equal access to Call of Duty to Sony, Nintendo, Steam, and others preserves the deal’s benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market.”
Microsoft also noted that “75% of respondents to the CMA’s public consultation” believed that the Activision Blizzard deal was good for the U.K. games industry.
