One of the “extreme” options that Microsoft considered in its acquisition of Activision Blizzard was moving the acquired company out of the UK altogether.
Bloomberg wrote about the scheduled meeting between Microsoft President Brad Smith and UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next week. Smith was later in the country to talk about regulating AI, but also wanted to talk about the CMA watchdog’s decision to block the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Microsoft has appealed that decision, it recently arrived their argument beyond which they wanted to challenge the blockade. According to Bloomberg, Smith has other options to discuss with Hunt.
There will also be ‘extreme’ options on the table, such as ignoring the blockade and moving on with the deal, or pulling Activision out of the UK altogether.
This doesn’t mean that the game can no longer be sold in the UK. The company could establish itself in a European country (after all, Europe had agreed to the deal) and publish its games in the UK through distributors. However, that meant losing all Activision’s UK work, developer, and publishing work.
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