The investigation by the UK authorities into the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft could be expanded due to some “competition issues”.
Last month the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it had opened an investigation into the $ 68.7 billion transaction, the largest ever by the video game industry , which would also have an impact on the Xbox Game Pass catalog (find the subscription in strong discount on Amazon ).
After gathering feedback from third parties interested in the proposed deal, the CMA now said Thursday that it has a number of outstanding concerns that need to be addressed (via VGC ). This means that there will be a sort of ‘second round’ of investigations relating to the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Phil Spencer , boss of Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, has released (via the official website) a long statement to reiterate the intentions of the House of Redmond regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard: the most important thing, however, is the confirmation of the arrival of three absolute big names on Game Pass.
We are talking about Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo , expected coming soon on Xbox Game Pass, with the other games from the publisher.
Spencer also underlined the inclusive vision of Microsoft which took place immediately after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard ( the so-called Gaming For Everyone ), also in response to the enlargement of the investigation by the FTC and the various competent bodies.
«We intend to make Activision Blizzard’s most popular library of games, including Overwatch, Diablo and Call of Duty, on Game Pass in order to grow the community of gamers» , Spencer explained.
And again, «by doing so we hope to see a constant growth of Game Pass, extending its reach also to smartphones and any other connected device [clear reference to cloud gaming , n.d.R.] ».
Considering that in these hours it was also the turn of the free games of Games With Gold, it must be said that there is certainly no shortage of news from Microsoft.
But that’s not all: we also remind you that starting yesterday you can download 4 new free games on Xbox Game Pass, including a fun Ubisoft open world.
