Phil Spencer ‘Feels Good’ About Activision Acquisition Progress, But UK Regulators May Need More Time To Review The Possible Deal

The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) have been gathering information and feedback from third parties who are interested in the possible acquisition of Activision by Microsoft. While the deadline has officially been set for September 1, this initial date may be pushed back to give more time to review the $68.7 billion deal.

According to Seeking Alpha, the U.K.’s antitrust regulators are also looking into the deal and have opened an inquiry into the deal to see if it will impact rivals. The proposed acquisition is being questioned by multiple regulators with Sony being concerned over the possibility that Call of Duty would soon be an exclusive Microsoft title.

Xbox’s Phil Spencer, chief executive officer of gaming, said, “I feel good about the progress that we’ve been making, but I go into the process supportive of people who maybe aren’t as close to the gaming industry asking good, hard questions about ‘what is our intent? What does this mean? If you play it out over five years, is this constricting a market? Is it growing a market?’”

While some believe there to be nothing anti-competitive about this deal, others believe that this would ultimately create a monopoly in the gaming industry due to the scale of both companies. Still, the deal doesn't necessarily mean that Activision games would be removed from PlayStation as Sony fears. As September 1 draws near, the date will either bring with it a final decision, or the decision may be changed and pushed back to allow for more time for review.