Against all expectations, the CMA decided to block Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. It was something very strange, for after the last concessions and arguments given by the Redmond giant, it seemed that the British body had finally come to its sensesand that he will finally approve said operation.

That rejection was the only one Microsoft has received so farAlthough we must remember that those from Redmond also have a pending lawsuit filed by the FTC in the United States and that the purpose of this is to block said operation. Many believe that eventually the Redmonds will have no problem exceeding this demand, but with CMA things seem much more complicated because this organism has closed in the band.

I say that it closed in the zone, because even the approval of the mentioned operation by the European Union did not make it think that it could be wrong, and that perhaps it did not focus enough on the reality of the market, the situation of games in the Czech Republic. cloud and the concessions that Microsoft is willing to make in this regard. There is still the possibility that the CMA will back down and ultimately decide to give Microsoft the green light, But what could happen if it wasn’t?

It is a very interesting question and we can get the answer from the latest statements of Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, in a recent interview. The executive indicated that the company would be willing to continue with the purchase operation and that it would not mind making sacrifices to stop marketing Activision Blizzard games and services in the UK.

Leaving the UK without Activision Blizzard games would be a huge blow to consumers in the country, where the Call of Duty franchise is hugely successful, and it would also hurt Sony itself, as leaving the PS5 without the saga could end it. reducing interest and demand for said console in this market.

Microsoft on the other hand would offer Game Pass without Activision Blizzard games in the UKand these would not even be available in the various cloud gaming services in this country. I think it’s pretty clear that blocking the CMA would end up having a negative rather than a positive impact on consumers and users in the UK, and it’s clear that everything I’ve just told you could be used to put pressure on that entity to reconsider your attitude.