Following Microsoft’s victory over the FTC, the UK’s CMA is open to negotiations

The news of the day was Judge Corley’s ruling in favor of Microsoft. The FTC lost its case and the Redmond company is now free to complete its nearly $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. An operation that had been stuck for several months due to requests from various regulatory agencies that were not clear that if it happened, it would be good for consumers.

The court ruling concluded that the acquisition would not jeopardize the competitiveness of the video game market and gave weight to Phil Spencer’s promise to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch consoles for at least 10 years, among other reasons, which you can read at this link. Somehow we all breathed a sigh of relief that the soap opera of the summer is coming to an end, but what about the CMA and their blockade in the UK?

The war for Activision Blizzard is (almost) over

We are not referring to the one we see in Call of Duty, but to the legal battle that Microsoft had with the two main obstacles to be able to buy Activision Blizzard. The FTC was the toughest rival in the United States and is no longer a threat, and in the case of the United Kingdom, where there was a parallel meeting between the Redmond company and the CMA, things are looking really good for the former. In fact, as soon as the verdict of the trial was announced, the CMA itself lowered its demands and is willing to sit down to negotiate. The agency has contacted The Verge to confirm the words of Microsoft’s Brad Smith, stating that they are “willing to consider any proposal”.