Candy Crush could be banned in the UK in 'big shock to gamers'

If things go badly wrong in Microsoft's attempts to buy Activision Blizzard it could end up with Candy Crush getting banned in the UK.

You might have been keeping tabs on the risk that Call of Duty could be banned in the UK due to the ongoing problems between Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the $69 billion (£56 billion) deal Microsoft is trying to do for Activision.

While the mega-money deal is getting waved through pretty much everywhere else in the world, the UK body is worried that the deal would have problems for the cloud gaming market.

They don't approve of the deal but Microsoft and Activision still want it to go through, so if an appeal which has been lodged against the CMA's verdict doesn't work then all parties are at an impasse.

If a deal can't be done then something's got to give and in a worst case scenario that could mean cutting off access to the UK market for Activision's games.

Omdia's principal analyst Liam Deane told LADbible that this situation ending in games like Call of Duty being banned is 'something that nobody wants', though he suggested that Microsoft and Activision could be doing some 'contingency planning' to figure out what it would actually look like.

Facebook/Candy Crush

Of course it's not just Call of Duty that would be affected in this worst case scenario as Activision makes a huge amount of games and owns some surprising titles you probably wouldn't have expected them to.

Activision owns video game developer King, the makers of Candy Crush, so any ban on their games could include the incredibly popular mobile game.

If you thought the Call of Duty fans would kick up a fuss in the event of their game being banned then the backlash from the legions of Candy Crush players would probably bring the UK to the brink of collapse.

It's yet another reason to hope that the UK's block on the Microsoft and Activision deal finds a resolution that isn't Activision games getting banned from the UK market.

Deane said he believed Candy Crush getting banned would end up being 'an even bigger shock' to people than Call of Duty.

He said: "Call of Duty is the jewel in the crown but Activision is a huge publisher.

Activision

"It's a pretty broad range of stuff, they have the AAA console properties but also huge mobile games, they own Candy Crush."

"You would notice the absence of Activision if you have any interaction with games."

The mobile game boasts about 250 million regular users around the world and since the UK is a 'significant' market for the video games industry a decent chunk of those gamers will be British.

Microsoft's appeal against the CMA's verdict will be heard in July, with a decision expected in either August or September.

If that appeal doesn't solve the problem then the regulator is either going to end up blocking Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard or a compromise will need to be reached so the deal can go ahead where Microsoft has to give something up.

Of all the prices to pay for getting the deal over the line, losing access to the UK market is the outcome that nobody wants but Deane warned that 'something awkward or unprecedented is going to happen somewhere'.

LADbible has contacted Microsoft for comment.

Topics: Gaming, UK News, Technology, Microsoft

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker