Iâm more confident than ever that the EU and CMA are coordinating on behavioral remedies and the deal will pass. Their final concerns likely align and the remedies that MS has offered likely addressed them.
A lot has been said about the CMA preferring divestitures. However, I believe that is more due to the CMA not wanting the headache of having to ensure compliance should the merging parties act a fool.
If the CMA were on a island with their own unique concerns, I could potentially see them block the deal. However, their concerns seem to align with the EU and therefore they are not on an island.
My final prediction is the CMA and EU will pass with the same behavioral remedies package. The EU will give the CMA a strong ally should MS try to renege on the remedies offered. MS offering to pay a third party to ensure compliance also helps here.
Hooray ! I wonât need to buy diablo 4 now ! This deal is so going through now!! Fantastic for gamers !
Best outcome for me! Because I was definitely gonna buy D4
Whatâs good for the gooseâŚ
This. The CMA are a fucking joke and wasting UK goverment money when this country is already in the fire.
-Sonyâs request to limit custodians (people whose documents must be produced) is denied even with respect to a Sony in-house antitrust counsel. Also, Sony had argued that searching a Japanese executiveâs files would be unduly burdensome because those documents are in Japanese, and that didnât persuade the judge either.
Oh boohoo. 
Have Japan Studio do it⌠Oh yeah, right 
The continued contempt SIE California holds for their Japanese roots is nothing short of infuriating.
Something I was thinking about.
Iâve seen a lot assume that Sony will cave and the FTC will drop their case if the other regulators approve, thus saving Sony the embarrassment of having to hand the documents over.
However, wouldnât Sony still have to provide their documents in the Gamersâ anti-trust lawsuit in California?
I saw several of the channels I follow with videos that key countries are very likely to approve. That indeed sounds damn good. But itâs not done until itâs done. 
I believe CMA will eventually accept behavioral remedies with coordination with the European Commission. The UK, as much as they want to be independent as they are, still needs to attract businesses to their country and going rogue and scrutinizing every mergers would only discourage foreign investors from doing business in the UK. Not saying they need to have a loose enforcement, but they need to start thinking about using behavioral remedies more as options to balance out strict enforcement but still have reasonability.
Iâm going for Netflix myself. Thereâs history between the 2 companies (Xbox 360 was the 1st game console to feature the Netflix app) and more recently, MS are helping Netflix with the advertising for their basic-tier of streaming service.
Now imagine some form of Game Pass via Netflix. Or MS making games based on Netflix IPs, or MS doing TV shows and movies based on Xbox IPs, streaming on Netflix to 231 million subscribers worldwide.
Lots of possibilities there, and Netflix as a company is a lot cheaper to buy now then it was last year, I say that as an ex-Netflix shareholder.
Not necessarily, for one thing the chances of that case actually getting to fact finding and producing documents before it gets thrown out are minimal, and for another, the records that the plaintiffâs lawyers would request are almost definitely going to be different (and not really aimed at getting Sony).
Even if deal is done. Diablo wont be on gamepass day 1. Maybe end of the year.
Thatâs too bad. But why is that?
Thats not true at all
I think the games already been announced and there maybe contractual obligations.
Who knows i just feel like its way too soon. Game comes out in june.
Would be one great announcement for during their E3 stream though. Doesnât MS have the marketing deal for this one? Kinda doubt there are contractual obligations here, but weâll have to wait and see.
I think only CoD you will have to âworryâ about not coming to Game Pass immediately. It seems Diablo 4 has Xbox marketing written all over them. Even made an exclusive logo when playing a trailer. Only time will tell and weâre getting close.
- The EU/CMA final decision is late April
- China is supposed to be May
- Xbox has the marketing
If it closes mid-May theres no reason Diablo wont launch on Game pass. Even late May it likely would.