Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard has been approved by the European Commission, bringing it one step closer to becoming a reality. The nearly $70 billion deal is the largest in tech history and has been the subject of much scrutiny and battle between Microsoft, Sony, and multiple regulators.
The European Commission announced on its website that the acquisition has been approved under the EU Merger Regulation. The European Commission stated that the deal would ultimately not harm the console market, but that it could harm cloud gaming. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) did not approve of the merger over the cloud gaming issue. However, the EU was satisfied with Microsoft’s proposed solutions regarding cloud gaming.
The EC wrote that, “The commitments [offered by Microsoft] fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation.”
Microsoft has offered a 10-year licensing commitment for consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) that would guarantee Activision Blizzard games cannot be locked to Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Any cloud gaming streaming service would be permitted to have a free license to provide Activision Blizzard games to consumers in the European Economic Area. Additionally, EEA consumers will be able to stream all current and future Activision Blizzard games they own a license for on any cloud gaming service of their choice.
EU: No Incentive for Microsoft to Block Sony
The European Commission concluded that Microsoft has no incentive to block distribution of Activision Blizzard games from Sony, as it is the leading distributor of console games worldwide.
The European Commission also said that if Microsoft ever did decide to make Call of Duty exclusive, Sony would still be able to compete. “Even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision’s games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the console market,” the EC said.
UK’s CMA Defends Decision to Block Acquisition
The UK’s CMA has doubled-down since on its decision to block the merger, insisting that they are not creating a “hostile” environment for tech companies after the agency was criticized for blocking the merger.
In response to the CMA and EU’s decisions, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that “the UK is clearly closed for business” and that the company would “meaningfully expand our investment and workforce throughout the EU.”
The CMA has stated that Microsoft’s remedies in regards to cloud gaming concerns are simply not enough. It has also rejected claims from Kotick that the CMA was acting as a “tool” of US antitrust regulators, who have also opposed the deal.
Hey, thanks for reading DZSH! Check out our newsletter too so you can always stay in the loop!
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
