Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard bid faces UK antitrust probe

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft’s purchase of video game publisher Activision Blizzard faces antitrust scrutiny in the U.K., where competition regulators say they’ve opened an initial inquiry into the $69 billion deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said Wednesday it has started looking into whether the transaction would result “in a substantial lessening of competition” in the United Kingdom. The U.S. tech giant announced in January that it was buying Activision Blizzard. The deal would make it a bigger video game company than Nintendo but  raised questions about its anti-competitive effects. The U.K. watchdog set a Sept. 1 deadline to decide whether to escalate its investigation.