It is block the takeover due to concerns it could hurt competition in cloud gaming

 
Microsoft’s huge $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard hit a surprise issue.

Britain said it would block the takeover due to concerns it could hurt competition in cloud gaming.

The country’s antitrust regulator said Microsoft had not eased its concerns.

The XBox maker had said it would offer access to Activision’s multi-billion dollar ‘Call of Duty’ franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms.

Following the decision, Microsoft said it was still fully committed to the buyout and would appeal.

Activision added it would ‘work aggressively’ with Microsoft to reverse it.

The ruling was a surprise to markets.

It comes after British regulators last month dropped concerns about the deal’s impact on the console market.

That left cloud streaming services as the last hurdle.

Microsoft tried to overcome that by signing licensing deals with the owners of streaming platforms.

Investors did not like the decision.

Activision shares dropped more than 10 per cent in U.S. pre-market trade.

Europe will decide on the deal by May 22.

The United State’s Federal Trade Commission is also seeking to block the buyout.