Britain’s competition authority is blocking a proposed deal in which Microsoft wants to take over Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The deal has also raised concerns in the EU and the US, with developments showing that governments are increasingly opposed to big tech deals.

Last year, it was announced that Microsoft wanted to pay $69 billion to acquire one of the largest game developers in the world, Activision Blizzard.

Apparently, competition authorities, both in the US and Europe, have launched investigations to see what implications this has for the market. Two companies did not like the conclusions.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said the block failed to address concerns about how the deal would change cloud gaming.

The CMA argued that Microsoft already has a strong market position and a large advantage that could mean new competitors could suffer.

Microsoft said it was disappointed by the decision, saying it had misunderstood how cloud technology works and that the government did not understand the online gaming market.

Over the past year, opposition has been expressed in Europe, as well as in the US, where an FTC block is possible. Among the big companies, Sony is the most against it.

The fear is that Microsoft will have complete control over famous games like Call of Duty and that the presence of these games on some platforms will be prohibited.

Sources: New York Times, CNBC