Britain shoots down Microsoft’s $69bn Activision deal

“How doesukcma a court block one American company from buying another American company?” asks a gamer in an online forum, where the chat is more often about high scores than competition law. “We had a war about this, and being independent, can do as we damn well please.”Sadly for gamers—and global tech firms—that is not so. On April 26th Britain’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (), blocked Microsoft’s of Activision Blizzard, a publisher of games such as “Call of Duty”, arguing that the combined firm could gain too much clout and reduce choice for consumers. The surprise decision may have killed the l worldwide.