Microsoft’s proposed A$100 billion takeover of game studio Activision Blizzard has hit yet another regulatory road block.

After the Federal Trade Commission in the US declared last month it intended to sue Microsoft to stop the proposed deal, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK has expended its timetable for its investigation into the deal.

The UK regulator has pushed back the intended March 1 publication of findings from its probe to April 26, arguing it needed to extra time to consider “the large volume of evidence, as well as main party and third-party submissions.”

The CMA will inform Microsoft and Activision Blizzard of its findings and any expected remedies by mid-February.

Microsoft has responded to the FTC’s opposition with a full-page ad in the Washington Post.

Titled “A New Year Opens New Doors”, the advert is aimed at appeasing lawmakers.

“As we enter a new year, we remain committed to creating the best workplaces we can for people who make a living in the tech sector,” it says.

“This is in keeping with new groundbreaking labor neutrality principles that the Communications Workers of America and Microsoft established last year. During 2023, we hope to bring the same agreement and principles to Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft has proposed to acquire.”

Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said last month that “Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals.

“We seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”