"It made errors," Microsoft criticizes CMA on appeal; confident it will beat regulator

A few days ago, Microsoft presented its appeal to the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA), which blocked the purchase of Activision Blizzard. Now, we know the arguments that the company put forward to downplay its findings and seek to turn the situation in its favor.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) published a summary of Microsoft's arguments. It lists at least 5 compelling reasons to argue that the CMA's conclusion is flawed. In doing so, the tech giant is seeking to get the agency to relent and approve the acquisition.

Microsoft presents its arguments against the CMA

From Microsoft's perspective the CMA made several mistakes in its conclusions. One of the main ones is not taking into account the company's position in the native gaming sector and, instead, giving too much weight to its current status in cloud gaming.

Microsoft also argues that the regulator did not take into account commercial agreements with Nvidia and other companies that, coincidentally, were related to cloud gaming.

On the other hand, it accuses the CMA of being illegal for claiming that Microsoft would have the ability to shut down rivals' cloud gaming services by depriving them of certain content. The company also lashed out at the idea that Activision would bring its games to cloud services even if the purchase does not go through.

Finally, Microsoft claims that the CMA's decision was a violation of its duty as a regulator. Rima Alaily, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, was positive about the appeal and believes they will achieve something favorable.

"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 industry and public support.

“We are confident in the strength of our appeal and the binding commitments we have made to increase competition and choice for players today and in the future." Alaily concluded.