It looks like selling the cloud streaming rights is the "small and discrete divesture".
One potential concession to the CMA under consideration by Microsoft is a move to sell cloud streaming rights to its catalogue of games to another provider in the UK, according to people familiar with the discussions. The arrangement might see Microsoft in effect exit the cloud gaming market in the UK or hand over operations of a games streaming platform for its Xbox console to a third party.
Microsoft has sounded out potential investors and operators about such a deal, which might assuage the CMA's concerns that the Xbox maker would have too much control over the nascent market for cloud gaming.
Bloomberg earlier reported details of the cloud discussions. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard declined to comment.
Gareth Sutcliffe, analyst at Enders Analysis, said that such a deal would be "really clunky" for consumers but "might be a way around the CMA". "Microsoft will be running the numbers for a UK carve-out that will please the CMA," he said. "They would be looking at least-worst options.
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That would be what the CMA calls "IP remedies":
Remedies that provide access to IP by licensing or assignment of patents, brands, data or other IP rights may be viewed in general as a specialized form of asset divestiture. The parties acquiring the IP rights should be able to compete effectively with the merger parties as a result of the acquisition. Where the terms of an IP remedy result in a material ongoing link between the merger parties and the parties gaining the IP (eg providing access to new releases or upgrades of technology or data), the measure may take on some of the characteristics of a behavioural commitment, which requires ongoing monitoring and enforcement.