GovWire

Thank you for your interest in the Microsoft / Activision Blizzard merger investigation. This page sets out information on the process we follow and will be updated as our investigation progresses.

Please read the information carefully before submitting any views and evidence.

How a Phase 2 merger investigation works

A Phase 2 merger goes through the following key stages:

Our Phase 1 investigation

We first carry out an initial review of the deal to determine whether there are any competition concerns. This is known as our Phase 1 investigation.

If we arent concerned about the deal, we clear it. But if we have competition concerns that are not solved during our initial review, we carry out a more in-depth investigation, known as Phase 2.

Phase 2 investigation begins

At Phase 2, we build on our work at Phase 1 and gather more evidence from the merging businesses and others to investigate potential issues with competition that could arise as a result of the merger.

Issues Statement published

The Issues Statement shows the focus of our Phase 2 investigation and sets out what are called theories of harm, which are the potential concerns that we are investigating.

At this point we invite anyone, including members of the public, to share their views with us.

Analysis of evidence

After publishing our Issues Statement, we continue gathering and reviewing evidence, and we often meet with the businesses proposing to merge and their representatives on site to learn more about their business. We then hold hearings with the main parties (and sometimes third parties) to ask them questions about the evidence that we have received and explore key issues.

If we think the merger could have a negative impact on competition, we also start thinking about potential solutions to those concerns (known as remedies).

Provisional findings

Once we have a good understanding of the business of the organisations proposing to merge, and a strong evidence base, we publish our provisional findings. This document outlines our provisional decision on the merger.

If we still have concerns, we will also send the merging businesses our thoughts on possible solutions, in a document referred to as a remedies notice.

Anyone can respond to our provisional findings.

Final report

This includes our final decision on the merger, including whether we believe it would harm competition for consumers or businesses in the UK.

If we find no competition concerns, the deal can go ahead as planned. If we do find competition concerns, we decide how these should be remedied. For example, this can include selling part of the business or prohibiting the merger altogether.

A Phase 2 merger inquiry is an in-depth investigation into the impact of a merger on competition and its effect on businesses, consumers and the economy as a whole.

Every Phase 2 inquiry is run by an appointed inquiry group. This is an independent panel made up of 3 to 5 people with a range of business, finance, economic and legal experience. They provide independent advice on the inquiry and are responsible for making the final decision on the case.

For this investigation, the inquiry group includes:

• Martin Coleman (Chair)
• John Thanassoulis
• Humphrey Battcock
• Ashleye Gunn

Our administrative timetable sets out the key stages of the Microsoft / Activision merger inquiry over the 24-week timeframe for the investigation. This timetable can be extended by up to 8 weeks if there are special reasons. If there is an extension, we will publish the reasons why.

What were investigating

The CMA will investigate whether the merger could significantly lessen competition in the supply of any products and services in the UK, and as a result lead to higher prices, less choice or worse quality for those products or services.

As explained in the Issues Statement, the CMA expects to look at:

The impact of the merger on other console gaming platforms

Well explore how the merger might negatively impact the availability of Activision content and games on other consoles. This will include the impact of:

• Full exclusivity: the potential for Microsoft to limit the availability of Activision content on other consoles
• Timed exclusivity: the potential for Microsoft to delay Activision content from appearing on other consoles
• Poorer quality: the potential for Microsoft to offer lower quality options for Activision content on other consoles, such as not having access to features or upgrades which are available on Microsoft devices
• Pricing: the potential for Microsoft to raise prices for Activision content on other consoles gaming platforms

The impact of the merger on multi-game subscriptions (such as competitors to Microsofts Xbox Game Pass)

Some gamers use multi-game subscriptions, in which they typically pay a monthly or annual price to have access to a catalogue of games on their console or gaming device.

We want to make sure that the merger wont result in higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice for gamers who choose to use subscription services to access games.

The impact of the merger on the future of cloud gaming

Well explore whether the merger could negatively impact the future of cloud gaming, where gamers can stream games over the internet through a range of different devices.

Our phase 1 investigation found Microsoft already has pre-existing strengths that it could use for cloud gaming, including:

• Being 1 of 3 global gaming console providers
• Owning Microsoft Azure, a cloud platform
• Owning Windows OS, Microsofts operating system for PCs

We want to understand whether combining these strengths with Activisions gaming portfolio would change Microsofts ability or incentive to harm rivals in cloud gaming.

What we are not investigating

The CMA can only look at the effects of the merger that are related to a loss of competition.

Our investigation will focus on the 3 key priority areas (or theories of harm) that are identified above.

When you can get involved

There are 2 stages during the Phase 2 investigation when the public can share their views and evidence with us by making a submission:

1. In response to our 