What’s new in Microsoft – Activision deal?
The EU opposes the UK's decision.
- Microsoft attempted to purchase the Activision Blizzard company for $69 billion.
- This means that lots of Activision titles will soon be coming to the service.
- While the UK's CMA has just blocked the deal, European regulators decided the opposite.
Contrary to the UK’s CMA’s decision to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the European Union has cleared the deal. The announcement arrived weeks after UK’s decision.
The European Commission has granted approval, subject to certain conditions. This decision comes after an extensive investigation into the potential impact of the merger on competition in the gaming industry. The Commission’s approval is contingent upon Microsoft’s compliance with the commitments it has offered.
During its in-depth investigation, the Commission identified specific areas where the acquisition could negatively affect competition. These included the distribution of console and PC video games, multi-game subscription services, cloud game streaming services, and the supply of PC operating systems.
The Commission found that while the acquisition would not harm competition in the distribution of games for rival consoles or multi-game subscription services, it could potentially impact the market for PC operating systems and cloud game streaming services.
To address these concerns, Microsoft has made comprehensive licensing commitments that will be in effect for ten years. These commitments grant consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) the right to stream all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games through any cloud game streaming service of their choice.
Additionally, EEA-based cloud game streaming service providers will receive a free license to stream Activision Blizzard’s games to gamers within the region. These measures ensure that gamers who have purchased Activision games or subscribed to multi-game services can stream those games using any cloud gaming platform and play them on any device, regardless of the operating system.
Beside that, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has also joined the suit and granted its approval for Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. With South Korea becoming the 38th country to support the deal, Microsoft moves closer to solidifying its position as a major player in the gaming world.
The UK has blocked the Microsoft – Activision Blizzard deal
In a press release, the UK’s spokesperson for CMA says that Redmond officials haven’t effectively succeeded in addressing issues in the cloud gaming sector, despite its 10-year binding deals with various publishers like Nvidia (GeForce NOW) and Nintendo back in February this year.
The final decision to prevent the deal comes after Microsoft’s proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector, outlined in the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) provisional findings published in February.
The CMA found evidence indicating that it would be advantageous for Microsoft to exclusively offer Activision’s games on its cloud gaming platform, which is already well-established in the industry.
Microsoft’s rival, Sony and its PlayStation consoles has been opposing this deal for long.
Earlier in February 2023, Microsoft boss Brad Smith arrived at a hearing with EU antitrust regulators to smoothen up the tech giant’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard.
Activision CEO Robert Kotick represented his company, while Sony, Google, and Nvidia Corp were also present in the hearing.
However, regulators and experts have been warning that the deal, which almost reaches $69 billion, could harm market competition given the stature of Microsoft and prevent innovations.
What do you think about the billion-dollar attempt from Microsoft over Activision Blizzard? Let us know in the comments!
