CMA had three main complaints at the start.

1. Console Gaming.
2. Subscription Services.
3. Cloud Gaming.

They rightfully dropped their "Subscription Services" complaint because it was a weak argument.

After the Nvidia and Boosteroid deals, I really can't see how they can possibly keep the Cloud Gaming complaint without looking like serious clowns, it was already a weak argument for a number of reasons and now Microsoft has basically blown away almost all of CMA's complaints, by partnering with the largest Cloud Gaming provider in the world in Nvidia and now the largest independent Cloud Gaming provider in Boosteroid.

I'm seeing a lot of "never heard of them" but I think that is actually a strong point in Microsoft's favour. This is the largest independent provider in the world but with "only" 4m users, they're a relatively new entry into the market without their own massive Cloud service to back them up and it seems as though that the vast majority of gamers don't even know who they are.

One of CMA's Cloud arguments is that Microsoft having the IPs would hurt new and smaller entries into the market.

Well...Here is Microsoft giving one of the smaller entries a massive boost and propping them up. Boosteroid being unknown makes this a bigger deal, it becomes hard to argue that they are hurting competition big and small, Microsoft is offering some of the biggest IP in Gaming to help an up and coming Cloud Gaming service.

Them having access to those massive IPs for 10 years will no doubt boost their service and brand recognition. Microsoft is helping both well established and powerful market leaders (Nvidia) and now relatively new, largest independent but still relatively small providers (Boosteroid) and they are both in favour of the deal.

Who is CMA protecting by keeping their argument on Cloud Gaming?

And this is just the start!

It's lovely to see for this reason as well, Microsoft has been supporting Ukraine a good amount behind the scenes.

Hope to see further investment into Ukraine when they beat back and win against the invaders.

Also not in discussions with Sony.

Ultimately it doesn't mean much aside from that either Sony isn't willing to negotiate (still) or Microsoft has decided to give up wasting their time with Sony and instead opt to negotiate only with regulators (and other companies). Either way Sony will get CoD because Microsoft isn't taking CoD off PlayStation, contract or no contract.

As for the "similar" 10 year Call of Duty deals...

• Amazon? Possible but Microsoft/Amazon are in fierce competition with each other so it'd be an unlikely and surprising agreement.
• Google? Nope, out of the market.
• Epic Game Store? This makes the most sense to me, it would come at next to zero effort to put CoD onto Epic Game Store.
• Tencent? Maaaaybe but I'm not sure it'd matter much since I don't think their Cloud Service is available outside of China and China looks to approve either way.

Anyone else?

Suppose another Boosteroid could happen, a company which barely anyone knows about, Lol.

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

I still think CMA will block the deal though, they aren't acting rational and it feels like they made their mind up on blocking the deal from the very start. But I'm 100% convinced that Microsoft will appeal to CAT now, although I'm trying to think on what grounds would CAT rule against CMA, I'm honestly not sure if CAT ever has and it usually requires CMA doing some procedure incorrectly or breaking some rules.

Like CAT said CMA fucked up by redacting key data in the Meta/Giphy acquisition but ultimately agreed with the block, Lol. It'll be interesting to see what angle Microsoft tries to argue because while we can disagree on their interpretation on the data, I wouldn't say that breaks any rules or procedure.

These CoD deals with more parties, and Sony no longer in active negotiations, looks very good for Xbox. Sony is making themselves look unreasonable. They are pretty much the only party standing in opposition at this point, and after Lulu said that Jim Ryan said "I don't want a better CoD deal, I just want the acquisition blocked" at the behind closed doors EU meeting last month, Sony pulling out of all negotiations with Xbox now makes them look incredibly petty because it backs up Lulu's claim. If this isn't enough to wake up the regulators, nothing is going to. Let us pray that the regulators see reason for a change.

Playstation is as close to a gaming monopoly as you can get right now, PS5 sales are lighting up the sales charts recently with PS5 selling roughly 3x as much as Xbox is selling worldwide in recent weeks, which suggests the marketshare this gen could be even more in Sony's favor than it was last gen, in spite of Xbox being more competitive now than at any point in their 20+ year history. If the regulators don't step in by allowing this ABK acquisition and maybe blocking some of these Sony timed hat deals on AAA games, Sony is going to easily dominate this generation in the regulators' so called "premium console market" it seems.  

It really does not matter if the CMA block the deal.  MS would just create a subsidirary of Activision/Blizz to operate in UK.  Basically that corp will just operate just like ABK/Blizz does today.  An analysis talked about this whole thing so really the CMA pose absolutly no obsticle to the deal going through.  This whole drama is pretty much dead.  The EU was the biggest hurtle and from all reports, that is a done deal.  THe US FTC is a joke and has no teeth.  If everything continue to move as it does now, MS is pretty much done with this drama.

It absolutely does matter if CMA blocks the deal, Lol.

If they block the deal then it's either...

• Appeal to CAT; Decision thrown back to CMA.
• Abandon the merger.
• Microsoft pulls out of UK and/or faces massive fines.

Microsoft can not create a subsidiary of Activision-Blizzard (a company they don't own) until the merger is complete and the merger can only be complete if the CMA approves the deal. Microsoft does not have any say of Activision-Blizzard's structure until the deal closes and CMA would have to approve a "subsidiary" option. Microsoft could invest in Activision-Blizzard as a minority shareholder after the deal is abandoned though.

That analysts was Patcher and he doesn't know what he is talking about when it comes to the UK, Lol. Multiple actual antitrust lawyers have said that what he has proposed/said is complete nonsense. Almost every lawyer who has commented on the deal have said that CMA is absolutely the biggest obstacle from near the start.

Multiple lawyers have been very nonchalant on EC because most have expected EC to approve from day one, even the EC themselves heavily hinted at them approving the deal months ago. There are American analysts like Patcher (not antitrust lawyers) who really don't have a clue how the CMA operates and think they work like FTC/EC...They don't, Lol.

There's one huge difference between FTC/CMA right from the start and that is that the FTC does not approve deals, they simply choose whether or not they will take someone to court to block a deal, it is the courts who decide whether a deal is blocked or not. While in the UK, the CMA is the one who approves whether a deal can happen or not, the CMA have massively more powerful than the FTC does.

You can't take CMA to court (at least, there is zero precedence of it so far), there is no "Federal Court" equivalent to take the CMA to like the FTC. Although CAT is a judicial body but they simply throw the decision back to CMA to make again if they rule against them. In order for CAT to go against the CMA (which is an extremely high bar) they need to find usually that CMA have broken some laws or procedural rules.

Patcher does not know what he is talking about, don't listen to him. CMA is the final boss here and has way more power than FTC and even EC.

If the deal *IS* blocked (which eh... whatever), I would hope that this is universally considered as a potential wake-up call for halting new huge mergers & breaking up previously-approved ones.

It makes 0 sense for MS/Acti-Blizz to be singled out and nothing else happens afterwards.