Microsoft's Activision deal could harm competition

Britain's antitrust regulator said Microsoft Corp's $69 billion Activision Blizzard could harm competition in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming, and it needs to be investigated in depth.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday the deal, the largest ever in gaming, could damage the industry if Microsoft refused to give competitors access to Activision's best-selling games.

"We are concerned that Microsoft could use its control over popular games like 'Call of Duty' and 'World of Warcraft' post-merger to harm rivals, including recent and future rivals in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming," Qazet.az reports according to the CMA.