FILE - In this July 3, 2014, file photo, the Microsoft Corp. logo is displayed outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft reports earnings on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
British regulators have blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market.
The Competition and Markets Authority said in its final report Wednesday that “the only effective remedy” to the significant loss of competition that the deal would result in “is to prohibit the Merger.”
The all-cash deal was set to be the biggest in the history of the tech industry.
But it faces stiff opposition from rival Sony and is also being scrutinized by regulators in the U.S. and Europe over fears that it would give Microsoft control of popular game franchises like Call of Duty.
