Microsoft may well end up avoiding The Game Awards 2022, and the provided explanation references regulatory reasons related to the ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The acquisition was first announced early in 2022, and the process has been slowly progressing ever since. Some of the concerns surrounding the $68.7 billion acquisition cite anti-competitive behavior, for example, and Sony in particular has been a major driving force in getting government bodies to question the validity of the deal.

It goes without saying, then, that Microsoft would want to ruffle as few feathers as possible until the deal goes through. One of the ways in which the software giant may make itself appear less prominent in the gaming industry could be to diminish its own output for a short while, and leaker Jez Corden appears to have heard some curious things about this particular topic.

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Though Corden did admit that all he's got are "vague rumors," he has been led to believe that it's entirely possible that Microsoft may end up not having an official presence at the 2022's Game Awards ceremony. Corden believes that the company may be attempting to hold back for "regulatory reasons," which could help its case in the legal hubbub surrounding the Activision Blizzard acquisition. This rumor, it's worth pointing out, is not without its precedent, as the other major party that has a stake in this discussion has been rumored to have done the same.

Indeed, there's a whole array of similar rumors concerning Sony and PlayStation, too. Some believe that 2022's PlayStation Showcase cancelation has much to do with attempting to avoid strengthening Microsoft's legal arguments, and if that were to be the case, it's easy to see Microsoft attempting to take a similar approach. For the time being, though, it's all rumors, and Corden himself admitted that it could go either way at this time.

UK's CMA recently published Sony's comments about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, where the company made an argument that what Microsoft was doing would harm all participants in the industry, as well as stifle competition, innovation, and the consumers themselves. Serious accusations on all fronts, but it's still entirely possible that the deal will end up going through in the end.

After all, Microsoft will fight for the Activision Blizzard acquisition, according to some of the company's latest commentary, and it doesn't seem like the situation will fully wrap up all that soon. This massive, industry-defining acquisition is currently making waves through almost every country's legislative body, and only time will tell whether the arbitration will end up favoring Microsoft, or if Sony's arguments against the acquisition will prevail, instead.

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