When Microsoft was in the regulatory process of acquiring Activision Blizzard, there were some "dark days," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in an interview with IGN. He said Microsoft had to plan for "all contingencies," and that included the deal not getting done.

"We consider everything. You have to in running the business. But we felt like we were on the side of right, meaning we weren't doing this so we could pull Call of Duty from PlayStation players. It was never in our plan. I mean, I think my whole inbox leaked on the internet, so if anybody wanted to find that that was the plan, you would find it somewhere and it wasn't there," Spencer said.

Spencer said Microsoft "stayed convicted" throughout the process, despite some obstacles like when the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initially rejected the deal. This was one of the "dark days" during the process, Spencer reflected.