According to VGC , documents released this week by the UK's competition watchdog indicate that Microsoft previously attempted to acquire an unnamed mobile game publisher.
Accordingly, on Wednesday, April 26, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had decided to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard due to concerns about the impact of the deal on the future of the cloud gaming market.
Microsoft once targeted a mobile game publisher
While the deal has often been cited by regulators as a reason for Microsoft to seek ownership of the iconic Call of Duty franchise, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has repeatedly stated that the company's $69 billion deal is primarily aimed at its mobile gaming ambitions.
Microsoft said the merger would improve its ability to create a new Xbox mobile platform and next-generation game store, thereby helping the company compete fairly with Google Play and the App Store.
After months of investigation, the CMA released its 418-page final report on the deal, which included some revelations that Microsoft had previously attempted to acquire a mobile games publisher.
The CMA said Microsoft asserted that Activision had a large influence in the mobile gaming sector, and said the presence of Activision's games on mobile game stores would enhance the company's competitiveness.
Microsoft says owning Activision will help accelerate creation of new mobile Xbox store
However, the UK authority disagreed with the company's argument, arguing that this could also be achieved through other methods than a merger. The CMA said that Microsoft could gain compelling content and experiences by buying another mobile games publisher, and asserted that this had long been the software giant's strategy.
Ultimately, the CMA said that in order to launch a new mobile platform that would compete in the market, Microsoft would need a significant number and genre of games. The agency said that Microsoft had not provided sufficient evidence to show that its merger attempt would be viable based solely on Activision's games.
For this reason, the CMA decided to block Microsoft's billion-dollar deal after months of investigation.
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