Microsoft will most likely end up owning Activision Blizzard by next year. While it may be a foregone conclusion, the tech giant will have to work for the purchase. After Saudi Arabia and Brazil gave it a thumbs up, Microsoft is having issues with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), UK's regulatory body.
Unlike most others, the CMA has started a second and more in-depth investigation into the buyout, which appears to have offended Microsoft.
Basically, the CMA is afraid that giving Microsoft the ability to put a game like Call of Duty into the Xbox exclusively is bad for the market. On the other hand, Microsoft is doing all it can to reaffirm that it will not pull Activision Blizzard games off PlayStation.
You can't exactly blame the CMA for casting doubt on Microsoft and its long-term plans for Activision Blizzard properties. After all, Microsoft is keeping future ZeniMax Media releases such as the likes of Redfall and Starfield as well as potentially The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 on the Xbox Series S/X. It wouldn't be out of character for Microsoft to do the same for Call of Duty, among many others, as soon as the existing agreements in place with Sony have expired.