UK competition authority target March for decision on Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. UK competition authority target March for decision on Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard As Microsoft launch a website praising the acquisition as their "vision for gaming" News by CJ Wheeler News Reporter Published on Oct. 5, 2022 2 comments The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have set a statutory deadline of March 1st for their investigation into Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and any third parties submitting responses to the CMA have until February to do so. As detailed in an update to the CMA's administrative timetable for their investigation, it might be the case that provisional findings are brought forward in January, a year after the deal was first revealed. Watch on YouTube The investigation now has a pretty clear timetable laid out for the next few months, which you can read here. The CMA decided in September that Microsoft's proposed buyout would need further investigation. This was due to concerns the competition authority had over the potential for Microsoft's control of popular game series such as Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft to "harm rivals, including recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming". Reuters reported last Friday that EU antitrust regulators have set a deadline of November 8th for their own preliminary decision on the Activision Blizzard buyout. If they decided to investigate further then it would result in a four-month second stage investigation, finishing close to the UK's deadline. Meanwhile, Microsoft have set up a website that sings the praises of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Dubbed their "vision for gaming", Microsoft say the deal is about offering "choice", and "removing friction" between players and developers. Microsoft aren't the only big company trying to acquire chunks of the industry. Embracer Group recently acquired another gaggle of games companies, along with the rights to Tolkein's Middle-Earth. The Swedish giants had already spent $300 million to nab intellectual property such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, plus several studios, from Square Enix earlier in the year. Chinese media behemoth Tencent are another major player in the industry's consolidation. It was revealed last month that Tencent had invested €300 million in Guillemot Brothers, Ubisoft's largest stakeholder. Tencent also teamed with Sony at the end of August to buy almost a third of Soulsborne masters FromSoftware's stock too. The consolidation of the games industry continues, and I'll carry on updating you as and when these mergers are announced. I'm sure we'll see plenty more. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here