EU antitrust regulators to probe Microsoft's $69 billion Activision bid

EU antitrust regulators connected Tuesday opened a full-scale probe into Microsoft's $69 cardinal bid for "Call of Duty" shaper Activision Blizzard, informing the woody whitethorn wounded competition.

The U.S. bundle company, which announced the woody successful January, is betting Activision's unchangeable of games volition assistance it vie amended with leaders Tencent and Sony, with the second being a professional of the deal.

"The Commission's preliminary probe shows that the transaction whitethorn importantly trim contention connected the markets for the organisation of console and PC video games, including multigame subscription services and/or unreality crippled streaming services, and for PC operating systems," the European Commission said successful a statement.

"In particular, the Commission is acrophobic that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft whitethorn foreclose entree to Activision Blizzard's console and PC video games, particularly to high-profile and highly palmy games (so-called 'AAA' games) specified arsenic 'Call of Duty'," it said.