OpenAI Eyes Massive 10GW Ohio Data Center Campus in Potential $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal 
Meta Delays Release of New AI Model as API Rollout Remains Uncertain 
Apollo and Blackstone Complete $35 Billion Anthropic AI Infrastructure Financing Deal 
SK Hynix Stock Rebounds as AI Memory Chip Demand Fuels Expansion Plans 
Honda Leadership Crisis Deepens as Retired Executives Challenge CEO Toshihiro Mibe’s Strategy 
EngineAI Files for Hong Kong IPO Amid Rising Demand for AI and Robotics Stocks 
Hanmi Semicon Shares Surge After $33 Million SpaceX Investment 
Meta Challenges Australia’s Proposed Tech Tax, Citing U.S. Trade Agreement Concerns 
Changchun Targets EV Growth as China’s Auto Industry Consolidation Accelerates 
GSK Reportedly Nears $9 Billion Acquisition of Cancer Drug Developer Nuvalent 
SpaceX IPO Sets Record With $75 Billion Raise, Valuation Hits $1.77 Trillion 
Exxon Mobil Set to Appoint Alex Volkov as Global Trading Chief 
Alibaba Offers $1.5 Billion to Acquire Grocery Delivery Platform Pupu 
Apple Unveils Enhanced Apple Intelligence and Next-Generation Siri at WWDC 2026 
Trump Administration Defends Anthropic AI Restrictions in Ongoing Federal Lawsuit 
Oracle Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat as Company Plans $40 Billion Financing for FY2027 
Nvidia Expands South Korea AI Partnerships to Strengthen Data Center and Memory Chip Supply 
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom confirmed it is moving forward with a more in-depth investigation of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition. Sony has responded, praising the regulator’s decision.
The CMA announced on Thursday that it has referred the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal for an in-depth investigation, which the regulator calls a Phase 2 inquiry.
UK’s market competition watchdog released its initial findings last Sept. 1, saying the $68.7 billion deal could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition.” According to CMA’s rules, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard would have to present remedies within five working days to prove that their deal will not negatively impact the video game market in the UK.
In its reference decision published on Thursday, the CMA said it was informed last Sept. 6 that Microsoft chose not to provide remedies to the regulator’s concerns. This corroborated a report from the Financial Times with sources that claimed Microsoft did not expect the CMA to accept any commitments that would have prevented a Phase 2 inquiry. Per the timetable CMA posted, the in-depth investigation could run through March 2023.
Sony, one of the companies most vocal about the acquisition, praised the CMA for its decision. "By giving Microsoft control of Activision games like ‘Call of Duty,’ this deal would have major negative implications for gamers and the future of the gaming industry," the company told GamesIndustry.biz. "We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality gaming experience, and we appreciate the CMA’s focus on protecting gamers."
Microsoft has previously said it will not be profitable for it to stop selling “Call of Duty” games on PlayStation. The Xbox parent company reiterated this argument in a statement to the same publication while pointing out PlayStation’s leading position in the gaming console market.
Sony issued its final PS4 hardware sales report last month, indicating that the company sold more than 117 million units of the last-generation console. A few days later, Game Luster learned that Microsoft admitted to Brazil’s competition authority that PS4 units sold were “sold more than twice” the Xbox One sales.
Photo by Gage Skidmore from Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
