Microsoft's appeal against the CMA over Activision Blizzard purchase is set for now

The UK Competition Market Authority's (CMA) blocking of the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, a deal worth $68.7 billion, has been one of the most controversial decisions in the gaming world this year. Despite the fact that other major markets such as China and the European Union have already given their approval (and presumably the FTC in the United States as well), the British regulator remains firm in its decision, although there are even doubts about its motivations and even Members of Parliament question the decision.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King said at the time that they would appeal the decision, and we now have a date to begin the legal process. It will be 24 July, as reported by VGC, when the pre-trial begins. The judge in charge scheduled the appeal hearings and made the following statement.

"There is a tendency (and it is more court-driven than party-driven) to shorten filings more than perhaps they should be. In this case, I want to do the opposite. I want the parties to understand that we want to give them every opportunity to set out the difficulties of this case in oral submissions and that we have time to do that."

While Microsoft told the judge it wanted the hearings to be held as soon as possible, the CMA had been pushing for a later date to give it more time to prepare its case.

"The CMA's decision is flawed for multiple reasons, including its overestimation of the role of cloud streaming in the gaming market and our position in it, as well as its unwillingness to consider solutions that received overwhelming support from the industry and the public," Microsoft said in a statement last week.

It is clear that the legal process will be far from straightforward, and that we will still have to wait a while before we know if Microsoft and Activision will finally converge under the same corporate umbrella.