Microsoft is running full page ads concerning the merger with Activision Blizzard

The provisional findings suggest that the deal will be blocked entirely or that the parts of the business related to Call of Duty be sold off and be removed from being included in the merger.

The CMA report also said that behavioral remedies such as Microsoft's offer to make Call of Duty available on other platforms can be considered, but will be less favorable. The regulator stated that the structural changes to the terms of the acquisition do not need constant monitoring and enforcement once in place.

The published findings explained that Microsoft could apply a range of strategies to stifle competition if the deal gets passed. The company could withhold games or content from its rivals and degrade the quality of titles released on other platforms.

Sony responded that the behavioral remedies may not sufficiently address the concerns of the regulators, suggesting a "myriad ways Microsoft could withhold or degrade access [which] would be extremely difficult to monitor and police." Sony added that its rival could release a buggy or broken game in order to sway players to transfer to Xbox for fear that PlayStation is the inferior platform to play their favorite game on.

In response to the provisional findings, Microsoft revealed that it had given Sony the option to release future Call of Duty games on PlayStation Plus. However, the PlayStation maker said that the offer will be reliant on unsustainable licensing costs which would lead to higher subscription fees for its players.

Microsoft also said that it is willing to pay for a third-party assessor to oversee the company's compliance with the ten-year licensing deal. The tech giant has said that the deal is legally enforceable and will have full content and feature parity with the Xbox version, going as far as to claim that it's confident it can do it on the Nintendo Switch if the deal pushes through.

Sony has yet to accept any offer from Microsoft. The current deal between Activision Blizzard and PlayStation is set to expire next year. If the deal isn't renewed, PlayStation will only have access to two more Call of Duty titles before the end of the licensing agreement.