Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard could potentially harm console gaming competition, cloud gaming and subscription services, the UK’s antitrust regulator said, according to a report from Reuters.

The deal, which has been touted as the largest ever in the history of gaming, could mean that Microsoft potentially restricts access to Activision’s games from other consoles, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. 

Activision-Blizzard is the creator of some of the most popular games in the history of gaming like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. 

According to the Reuters report, the CMA expressed concern that Microsoft would “use its control” post-merger to hinder rivals, present and future in matters like “multi-game subscriptions and cloud gaming”.

Also Read:Why the US has banned the export of AI chips to China

The console market has been limited to the likes of Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony for the past 20 years, with other entrants failing to make a dent. 

However, Microsoft has said that it will not be restricting access to games. President and Vice Chair at Microsoft, Brad Smith has said that the company wants “people to more access to games, not less.”

Also Read:Google will not host Donald Trump’s Truth Social on Play Store, here’s why

On the other hand, industry veterans and analysts say that the merger is unlikely to be anti-competitive, as long as the tech giant stands by its word to make Microsoft games accessible to its rivals. However, Atlantic Equities analyst Kunaal Malde told Reuters that Microsoft would have to put what it has been saying on paper and draw up specifics regarding game exclusivity. 

The deal, announced in January is still pending approval from other regions, like the United States as well as the European Union and China. As part of the deal, a $3 billion break-fee will have to be paid by Microsoft should the deal fall through, according to a Reuters report. But judging by the amount of money involved in both the acquisition and the break-fee, it looks like Microsoft is not worried about gaining approval from antitrust regulators.