The UK Competition Authority (CMA) has published a provisional proposal on Microsoft's expected acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which includes removing Call of Duty from the deal.

Citing VGC, as part of this interim proposal, the CMA stated that this acquisition could lead to higher game prices or fewer options for UK gamers. Therefore, the commission proposed a "deal-against" arrangement to ensure a mutually beneficial solution. This means the deal is split, which leads to the following possibilities:

1. Sale of the part of the company that deals with Call of Duty
2. Sale of Activision Blizzard's Activision division
3. Selling the Activision and Blizzard divisions

Another potential solution for the Capital Market Authority would be to ban the transaction altogether.

Microsoft vice president and deputy general counsel said Rima Alili In its statement on the UK Competition Authority's proposal:

We are committed to providing effective and easy-to-implement solutions to address the CMA's concerns. Our commitment to providing equal long-term 100% access to Call of Duty on Sony, Nintendo, Steam, and other platforms preserves the benefits of the agreement for players and developers and increases competition in the market.

And he said martin coleman, chair of the independent expert panel conducting the CMA's Phase II investigation, estimates that there are around 45 million gamers in the UK. People in the UK spend more on games than on any other form of entertainment, including music, movies, television, and books.

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Our job is to ensure that UK players don't get caught in the crossfire of global deals that, over time, can destroy competition, raise prices, reduce choice, or reduce innovation. We've tentatively found that this may be the case here.

The Capital Markets Authority now invites interested parties to respond by March 1st, informing them of possible solutions to resolve their concerns about the approval of the completion of this deal.

According to a New York Times report, Microsoft's legal team expects the British antitrust authority to oppose the deal. After the European Union issued its antitrust warning in the region this week, the warning is clear and explicitly directed at the deal with Activision Blizzard.

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