The UK regulator is no longer concerned about the effect of the Activision buyout on console competition

“While CMA’s original analysis indicated that this strategy would be beneficial in most situations, the new data—which provides better insight into the actual purchasing behavior of Call of Duty gamers—shows that this strategy may not work in any possible situation. Under will be significantly damaging,” it says.

The document adds: “On this basis, the updated analysis now shows that making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox after the deal would not be commercially beneficial for Microsoft, but for Microsoft to still continue to make the game. Will get motivation. Available on PlayStation. The paper raises concerns about competition in cloud gaming, which have yet to be fully resolved.

Earlier this week, a developer from Arkane confirmed the Vampire FPS Redfall At one point in development for Sony’s system, but after Xbox’s acquisition of Bethesda, his team was told, “No PS5.” In a response released today, Microsoft claimed that it had “expanded our footprint of games that we ported to Sony’s PlayStation” despite not really standing up to scrutiny.

Either way, it seems that Sony has lost the ear of UK regulators, and with the European Commission also predicted to give the green light to the deal, we are nearing game over in this sorry corporate saga.

[source gov.uk]