Xbox ‘set to attend Downing Street event’ on UK Activision deal deadline day

Microsoft is reportedly set to participate in a games industry event at 10 Downing Street on the same day as the UK’s competition regulator could rule on its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

According to Sky News, Xbox will showcase its products at the Prime Minister’s office on April 26, at an event organised by industry trade body Ukie.

That’s the same day as the deadline for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to publish its final report on the $69 billion deal for Call of Duty owner Activision, although the regulator’s verdict could be delivered before this date.

A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed to VGC that it plans to attend the event next week, but offered no further details.

While the CMA provisionally found in February that the merger could reduce competition and “result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers,” it partially reversed its decision a month later.

After reviewing new evidence, the CMA said it no longer believed the deal would significantly reduce competition in the console gaming space, although it still has concerns about the acquisition’s impact on the cloud gaming market.

In a bid to address these concerns, Microsoft has struck game distribution deals with several cloud gaming services including GeForce Now, Boosteroid and Ubitus.

Microsoft‘s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard was approved by South Africa’s Competition Commission this week. It has also been cleared in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Serbia, Chile and Japan.

Further reading

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Microsoft is promoting its Activision Blizzard acquisition on the London Underground

It follows similar advertising in several UK newspapers earlier this year

The European Commission will publish its verdict by May 22. It has been claimed that Microsoft’s willingness to offer game licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns.

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission is suing Microsoft in a bid to block the Activision Blizzard deal over competition concerns.