Microsoft’s bid to buy games giant faces triple antitrust threat

Depending on which side you’re on, tech giant Microsoft is either the hero fighting to bring some of the most popular video games to more people, or the villain on the brink of killing competition in the sector.

The Xbox owner has embarked on a campaign to convince all three EU, UK and US regulators to back its $69 billion bid to take over Activision Blizzard, owner of hit games “Candy Crush” and “Call Of Duty”.

The effort to create the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue was launched last year but the company must now address concerns from all three regulators that if it takes control of such market-leading games it could stifle competition.