Xbox Claims Worldwide Regulators Onboard With Activision Blizzard Merger, Canada Disagrees

Despite Xbox declaring that its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has the support of regulators worldwide, Canada’s regulation agency has publicly come out and said it does not support this deal. 

In a letter, Canadian Competition Bureau lawyer Jonathan Bitran wrote to Microsoft lawyers Beth Wilkinson and Bambo Obaro to address some “factual inaccuracies” in a court document submitted during the evidentiary hearing between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Microsoft. Noting Microsoft’s declaration that “every single worldwide regulator” is on board with Microsoft purchasing Activision Blizzard. 

 “Contrary to the foregoing quotations from the Memorandum, in a videoconference on May 5, 2023, the Bureau communicated to Microsoft and Activision’s Canadian counsel that the Bureau has concluded that the proposed merger is likely to result in a substantial prevention and/or lessening of competition with respect to gaming consoles and multigame subscription services (as well as cloud gaming) and that the Bureau is continuing to monitor the transaction,” Bitran wrote.

“We received notice from the Canada Competition Bureau that it would continue to monitor our acquisition of Activision Blizzard after the formal waiting period preventing the deal to close expired,” a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN in a statement. “We continue to work with regulators around the world to address any remaining concerns.”

The document Bitran is referring to is a memorandum submitted on June 16 before the hearing began. In the document, Microsoft claimed that every worldwide regulator “other than” the FTC and the UK’s Competition Market’s Authority (CMA) supported the deal. The former currently suing Microsoft to stop the deal from happening, while the latter voted a few months back to block the deal from going through.

The Canadian Competition Bureau’s statement is a blow to Xbox’s assertion that the FTC and the CMA are outliers in opposing the Activision Blizzard deal. To date, Xbox has won approval in markets including Europe and Japan, but has come under scrutiny elsewhere.

Microsoft is currently appealing the CMA’s decision with a hearing scheduled on July 28. As The Verge’s Tom Warren pointed out yesterday, the CMA tried to delay the appeal hearing from July to October but was unsuccessful. 

Meanwhile, we are currently on day four of the evidentiary hearing between the FTC and Microsoft, where the outcome of this trial will determine the future of Microsoft’s proposed deal to buy Activision Blizzard. If you want to learn more about the ongoing trial, check out our daily roundups. If you want a more in-depth look at the previous trial days, check out our day one, day two, day 3, and day 4 analysis pieces.

Editor’s Note: Story has been updated to include a statement from Microsoft.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.