CMA's Prelim in January could tell us.

• If it's really bad/negative then they're likely blocking it.
• If it's vague then we will have to wait until April.

But also we'll know what EC's complaints about the deal are in January and be able to deduce if Microsoft can offer concessions.

If it's something like "PS NEEDS COD TO SURVIVE" then we could say it's an easy concession but if it's something that looks like a concession that Microsoft wouldn't make then yeah we'd have a pretty decent idea and Microsoft will likely dump the deal before April in that scenario.

I don't think we have to wait until April to have a general idea of if the deal is being blocked, I hope.

"Sources familiar with Microsoft’s layoffs tell The Verge that today’s cuts affect employees working on HoloLens and Microsoft Edge, as well as impacting workers in Microsoft’s marketing teams and at 343 Industries and Bethesda."

Senior Designer at 343.

ESO Community Manager.

Video Producer at 343.

Others I've Read (Can't find their Twitter).

• Global Technical Recruiter at Gaming was laid off.
• Senior Environment Artist at 343 laid off.

343...

343 is being hit the worst so far from what I can tell...This studio can never catch a break.

Reading Bethesda but unsure if it's Starfield developers, Bethesda is a big company.

Very frustrating and short sighted decision from Satya but hey at least we saved a little bit of profits, yay capitalism.

Well atleast they had 10 Billion for ChatGP.  Hololens down and Apple's AR Glasses indefinitely delayed...

Oh damn, Power wash simulator gets free dlc at the end of the month. The Lara Croft Mansion(Tomb Raider).

343 has had a hiring freeze for months too, talent is harder to hire nowadays, especially in extremely competitive places like Redmond, not to mention all the issues with contractors working on an in-house engine and now they're suffering lay offs. I understand Infinite probably isn't making them much right now but this is not the way to fix that. Wtf is Satya thinking. Halo has a massive uphill battle ahead of it.

All of this is after 343 was finally starting to improve things and the future looking bright, Christ, morale at the studio must be in the dirt right now. Others will take advantage of that (NetEase). A fear of mine is that if ABK does approve, Microsoft is going to dump Halo so hard because they now have CoD.

Yeah, I'm expecting the CMA to be vague and pass the buck until April. 

Coalition hit.

Lower digital spend so lets fire the people who get the games out, the games which increase digital spend. 🤡