UK investigating Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo over subscription plans

An attendee wears a Sony Corp. Playstation virtual reality (VR) headset during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The GDC is the world's largest professional game industry event that brings together game designers, programmers, artists, producers, and business professionals in the global game development community. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

LOS ANGELES: The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching a consumer law investigation into videogame companies Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo over some of their business practices, it announced on April 5.

The CMA is concerned about whether or not some of the companies’ practices are legal, including their use of auto-renewals for subscription services like Xbox Live, PlayStation Plus, and Nintendo Switch Online. It’s also looking into their cancellation and refund policies and their terms and conditions.