UK watchdog softens position on Microsoft Activision deal

British antitrust regulators scrutinizing Microsoft’s blockbuster purchase of videogame maker Activision Blizzard have dropped concerns that the deal would hurt the console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it no longer thinks the $69 billion deal will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” for console games in the U.K. The watchdog was providing an update to provisional findings issued last month based on new evidence. The deal faces stiff opposition from rival Sony and is being examined by regulators in the U.S. and Europe. The U.K. watchdog is still investigating the deal’s impact on the cloud computing market.