The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft's purchase of Activision today. The decision was taken after they found the purchase would cause a loss to users in the UK who do not use the Microsoft ecosystem.
CMA's concern is on the cloud gaming market where Microsoft is currently estimated to hold 60-70% of the market. If the purchase goes ahead, games under Activision will only be offered exclusively to Microsoft customers. This means that there are departures of popular games such as the Call of Duty series, Overwatch and Diablo cannot be used on other platforms.
The CMA is also not satisfied with the solution provided by Microsoft regarding the streaming of games on other platforms, the support of games on platforms on operating systems other than Windows and the plan to equalize the terms and conditions of games offered on different platforms that do not offer the best value to users.
Activision and Blizzard disagreed with the CMA's decision, with both companies confirming they would appeal as soon as possible to allow the $68.7 billion takeover to go ahead.