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EU gives Microsoft antitrust warning over Activision deal

EU gives Microsoft antitrust warning over Activision deal

The European Union has given Microsoft a list of objections regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

That's according to Politico, which reports that the European government has issued a formal antitrust warning to the Xbox giant on Tuesday, January 31st.

Exactly what objections the EU has to the deal is unclear, though it's likely much the same arguments that we have heard countless times around the deal, such as the anxiety of Call of Duty becoming exclusive to Microsoft platforms rather than being available on PlayStation also.

Responding to the objections, Microsoft said that it is focused on "finding a path forward" to ensure that the deal can go ahead.

“We are listening carefully to the European Commission's concerns and are confident we can address them,” a spokesperson said.

Word that the EU was going to object to the Microsoft Activision deal broke in late January. It follows the US' Federal Trade Commission suing to stop the acquisition. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority is in the process of conducting a long investigation into the matter. 


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.