Microsoft president Brad Smith is set to voice his frustration over the CMA’s Activision acquisition block via a meeting with the UK chancellor next week.
Ahead of Xbox’s appeal to try and reverse the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in court later this July, Microsoft CEO Brad Smith is set to meet with UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt in a final bid to get its Microsoft Activision deal approved once and for all. The meeting will occur next week where, according to a report from Bloomberg, Smith hopes to “point to the benefits of the acquisition for gamers” based in the UK.
Should the CMA’s verdict be upheld and Microsoft isn’t allowed to operate as Activision Blizzard ’s parent company on British shores, it’s likely that the tech giant will need to find other avenues to distribute games like Diablo, Overwatch and potentially even Call of Duty in this territory. That’s despite Microsoft previously making promises to keep the latter on PlayStation consoles in an attempt to dissuade competition fears.
Ultimately, the CMA’s choice to block the Microsoft Activision deal came down to concerns over its dominance within the cloud gaming market, rather than ownership of any particular game. Its impact could still affect the way UK players access Call of Duty, though, with the blockbuster IP unlikely to appear on Xbox Game Pass (as it presumably will be elsewhere) should the deal remain blocked.
Microsoft is obviously hoping this isn’t the case, as evidenced by its upcoming appeal to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) next month and now this meeting between Smith and Hunt. The two will reportedly discuss AI and future regulation practices for it, but mainly the Microsoft Activision deal which Smith’s representatives reiterating that the company is “committed to finding creative and constructive ways” to address the CMA’s concerns.
The UK chancellor previously voiced his disappointment over the UK regulatory body’s decision to block the deal, telling businesses at a conference recently that such authorities must “understand their wider responsibilities”. There’s no sign yet of just how influential Brad Smith’s meeting with Jeremy Hunt will be in affecting the CAT’s appeal decision.
Meeting of minds
News that Microsoft’s CEO and the UK Chancellor are set to meet to discuss the Microsoft Activision deal proves to me just how desperate the company is in trying to pass the acquisition through the UK court, although it can only ever have a limited affect. By voicing his frustration over this instance, however, Smith could be hoping to send a shiver down the government’s spin about how Microsoft may want to act in the UK market in future – even outside of all things gaming.
Would it suck to have our access to Call of Duty hampered here in the UK compared to other territories? Sure, but then it also wouldn’t be too different to how players on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC get to play it now. The only difference is that in future there’s a chance Xbox players could play it via their Xbox Game Pass subscription, while those on PlayStation are still forced to pay full price. The same would go for Nintendo Switch players, which Microsoft somehow thinks it can get Call of Duty games to run on.
The official Microsoft appeal will take place in the weeks commencing July 24 and July 31, 2023, as laid out by CAT judge Marcus Smith at the beginning of this month. Only then will we know if the UK will rule in favour or against the CMA’s decision to block the Activision deal.
