Microsoft has been given approval to buy Call of Duty developer Activision, clearing the way for one of the biggest ever tech deals. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the Xbox owner could go ahead with the takeover after agreeing to buy Activision without cloud gaming rights. It puts an end to a half-year long battle between the watchdog and Microsoft, having moved to block the deal in April. But businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA Sarah Cardell, CMA's chief executive The new deal, which was initially worth 69 billion US dollars (£56.6 billion at the current exchange rate), will stop Microsoft from having a “stranglehold” over the UK cloud gaming market, the CMA said. The regulator said it would preserve competitive prices for gamers and make sure consumers get more choice. Assassin’s Creed video game maker Ubisoft is set to buy Activision’s cloud gaming rights instead. But the CMA criticised Microsoft for “dragging out” proceedings during its investigation into the merger. Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive, said: “With the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we’ve made sure Microsoft can’t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market. “But businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA. “Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work. “Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money.” Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, said the group is “grateful” for the decision to approve the acquisition which he believes will “benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide”. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Incels using TikTok to spread ‘hateful beliefs’, research suggests Duke and Duchess of Sussex call for overhaul of social media Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions Broadband customers face £150 hikes because of ‘outrageous’ rises – Which? Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses

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Elon Musk, the owner of X – formerly known as Twitter – was booed at a video game contest in Los Angeles. The audience at Valorant World Championship Final on Saturday did not seem to like Mr Musk’s takeover of the social media platform, which he then renamed. As soon as the cameras showed him, he was met with a cacophony of boos. Mr Musk was attending the tournament with one of his sons, Insider reported. A clip of the event has ironically garnered over 14m views on Mr Musk’s social media platform. “Where is that from? That can’t be from in here, surely,” one of the commentators said amid the booing after the camera aired a brief shot of the Tesla and SpaceX founder. Even after the camera returned to focus on the game play, the crowd continued to boo. Then people started chanting in unison: “Bring back Twitter!” People on X weighed in on what it means to elicit such a reaction at a video game tournament. One X user wrote: “Getting booed by Valorant players is like getting wedgies by the anime club in middle school.” Another user remarked, “Lol we want a new logo,” seemingly blasting the black “X” that replaced the blue bird as the platform’s logo. Yet another said that the boos weren’t that bad: “That was actually a very sweet chant compared to all the other things they could of chanted.” The X owner has faced consistent criticism over the changes he has made to the popular and influential social media platform since his takeover last year. On top of unhappiness over the policy changes, Mr Musk was also blasted over his decision to rebrand the site from the household name Twitter to a simple X. Last month, a giant “X” sign appeared above the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, sparking an investigation; the sign has since been taken down. This wasn’t the first harsh rebuke Mr Musk faced last week; the Justice Department sued his company, SpaceX, accusing it of hiring discrimination. Read More Elon Musk’s SpaceX sued over allegations of hiring discrimination Elon Musk’s X took two days to remove account where Laura Carleton’s killer spewed anti-LGBT+ hate Musk admits X may be doomed to fail as new glitch wipes out pictures from former Twitter platform Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces Black leaders' anger after racist killings in Jacksonville Trump misleadingly claims 250 million viewers watched his Tucker Carlson interview Trump insists ‘I LOVE TRUTH SOCIAL’ after making return to Twitter with mug shot

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