Activision Blizzard stock is down 11.19% today so far, with the stock currently priced at $77.03 at the time of this writing. This is certainly bad news for anyone who currently owns stock in the video game publishing giant, but it's an expected reaction after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked Microsoft's attempted acquisition of the company.

Microsoft first announced its intentions to acquire Activision Blizzard last year. This would give Microsoft control of some of the world's most popular video game franchises, including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, and represent a significant boost to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Many countries around the world have approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but there have been some significant roadblocks in the US and the UK.

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The UK's CMA was expected to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, so it came as a shock when it did the exact opposite on April 26, blocking the sale over cloud gaming concerns. The surprise decision to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has sent the latter company's stock plummeting, whereas Microsoft's stock is actually up by over 7% thanks to its Q3 earnings report. Activision stock is in flux, but at the time of publishing it's down 11.19% and priced at $77.03.

activision blizzard stock

Even though the UK CMA has blocked Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it doesn't mean that the deal still won't go through at some point down the road. Microsoft has made it clear that it plans on appealing the decision. However, there's no telling how long that might take, and so Microsoft may want to come up with some new plans to bolster its Xbox Game Pass service and exclusives lineup.

As it stands, there are definitely some big Xbox games on the horizon, with Bethesda's Starfield finally set to launch later this year. However, there is no word on when some other big Xbox exclusives, like Perfect Dark and Fable, might drop. Gears of War 6 hasn't been announced yet, and the Halo franchise is arguably in the worst state it's ever been. The Activision Blizzard acquisition would have been a big way for Xbox to give itself a much-needed boost, so it's a shame for Xbox that it's been blocked.

Even if Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard never goes through, the company's stock will likely still bounce back at some point. After all, Call of Duty games are consistently the top-selling games every year, and the company has some other major projects in the pipeline, including a new IP from Blizzard, the full release of Overwatch 2, and the upcoming Diablo 4.

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