There's still a lot going on behind the scenes in regards to the UK CMA's decision to block Xbox's Activision Blizzard merger, with Microsoft President Brad Smith meeting to discuss the deal with UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week.
Bloomberg is reporting that Smith is in London to give a scheduled talk about the potential of AI, but he'll also be conducting private discussions about various other matters. Activision Blizzard is part of this, as confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson:
He’ll also hold private discussions on other issues, “including the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard as we remain committed to finding creative and constructive ways to address remaining regulatory concerns,” a Microsoft representative said.
One of the outlet's sources has mentioned that an "extreme" way for Microsoft to save the deal could be to bypass the UK order and push on with the takeover anyway, or even withdraw Activision from the UK market.
For now though, the main thing to focus on is Microsoft's appeal against the UK CMA's verdict, with a hearing tentatively set for late July. If the company isn't successful in its appeal, it'll be very interesting to see what comes next.