In filings with UK’s CMA as part of its Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft says it plans to build a new Xbox Mobile Platform and a store to sell games (Tom Warren/The Verge)

Christopher Dring / GamesIndustry.biz:
The UK’s CMA details its concerns with Microsoft’s Activision acquisition, including withholding games from rivals; Microsoft argues Sony is the dominant player  —  The CMA expects the deal to impact PlayStation and game streaming  —  The Competition and Markets Authority has detailed …

Jordan Middler / Video Games Chronicle:
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says Sony opposes the Activision Blizzard acquisition to “protect its dominance” and grows by “making Xbox smaller”  —  In the latest war of words over its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s Gaming CEO has claimed …

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
UK’s CMA gives a final order to Meta to sell Giphy, after a judge ordered the CMA to reassess the case in July  —  Bye-bye: Meta has again been ordered by the UK’s competition watchdog to sell animated GIF platform, Giphy.  And this time it’s final.  —  The decision follows a ‘stay …

Katharine Gemmell / Bloomberg:
The UK’s CMA says Microsoft’s $69B Activision Blizzard acquisition will require an in-depth review and gives Microsoft a September 8 deadline to offer remedies  —  Microsoft Corp.’s planned $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. will be sent for an in-depth review unless …

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft reports Q1 Windows OEM revenue down 15% YoY, devices revenue up 2% YoY, Xbox hardware revenue up 13%, and Xbox content and services revenue down 3%  —  It’s a new financial year for Microsoft, and the Windows and Xbox maker has just posted the first quarter of its 2023 financial results today.

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Satya Nadella says more than 20M people have streamed games using Xbox Cloud Gaming, double the 10M figure that Microsoft shared in April 2022  —  More than 20 million people have streamed games using Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday during the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings call.