The CMA met with the FTC 26 times to discuss Activision Blizzard’s acquisition

The CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed how many times the regulatory body met with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to discuss Microsoft's ongoing pursuit of Activision Blizzard following allegations of collusion between the two agencies.

The details:

• Sarah Cardell, the CMA's CEO, revealed in a new document that the agency met with the FTC a total of 26 times via phone and virtual meetings between September 2022 and April 2023, just before the CMA's report was released. The exchange also included approximately 74 emails, though some of them were simply administrative messages sent to set up the previously mentioned meetings.
• After learning of the meetings, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick suggested that the two bodies had joined forces against Microsoft and Activision, stating that he believed the CMA was "being used as a tool" by the FTC. The FTC responded to the comments by stating that, while a meeting was held just before the CMA's ruling, the deal was not discussed, and that "when a deal appears blatantly anti-competitive, then independent antitrust regulators can simply make their own judgments.”
• Despite the ruling, it is believed that the $69 billion deal will proceed, with Microsoft President Brad Smith scheduled to meet with UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week to discuss its options for the UK market. Hunt had previously criticized the CMA's decision, and Microsoft is said to be considering "extreme" options, such as moving Activision's operations out of the UK and providing its services through a distributor.

More Activision Blizzard news:

• According to pre-release player figures, Diablo IV is now Blizzard's fastest-selling game in Blizzard’s company history. During the game's early access period, players accumulated over 93 million hours of playtime, which is equivalent to over 10,000 years.
• Activision will be present at Summer Game Fest on June 8, but it is unclear what it will reveal. Due to its recent cease-and-desist orders to fan projects SM2 and X Labs, some fans believe the publisher will reveal something related to its older Call of Duty titles, such as a remastered collection.