Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard for nearly $ 70 billion. However, in a deal of this magnitude, it’s not enough to just open your wallet. Numerous competition authorities are involved in the takeover and are examining it.

In the U.K., investigators appear to be looking a little more closely and announced that their investigation has officially been extended into a second phase due to a number of antitrust concerns. The CMA is concerned about the impact the merger could have on PlayStation’s competitiveness. “Call of Duty” in particular is seen as critical.

Sony speaks out

While the outcome is still pending, Sony has responded to the CMA’s decision to investigate the acquisition further, welcoming the announcement.

“By giving Microsoft control of Activision games like Call of Duty, this deal would have a significant negative impact on gamers and the future of the games industry,” Sony said in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz. “We want to ensure that PlayStation gamers continue to have a high-quality gaming experience. And we appreciate the CMA’s focus on protecting gamers.”

Microsoft also responded with a statement, reiterating that the PlayStation platform is very important to Call of Duty: “Given its market-leading console position, it makes no business sense for Microsoft to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation.”

It looks like PlayStation gamers won’t have to go without new “Call of Duty” games for at least the next few years, even though Sony has dismissed a previously submitted deal as a “inadequate on several levels” described.

Facebook’s Meta platform is less critical of the deal. According to the group’s assessment, new players and gaming experiences are constantly pouring into the market, so that even the elimination of established series does not carry that much weight.