The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has made the final decision on Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The regulator, which initially expressed concerns about cloud gaming, gave the green light to the deal after a three-week wait. As of now, the path has been cleared for the biggest merger in gaming history.Activision Blizzard deal is now finalized
For those who don’t know, in April, the CMA blocked the deal with its decision that the Activision Blizzard acquisition would hinder competition in the cloud gaming market. Immediately afterwards, as the obstacles to the agreement were removed one by one, Microsoft was given a second chance to resolve the concerns. At this point, Microsoft attempted to restructure the proposed acquisition by agreeing to sell Activision Blizzard’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft.
So much so that in this agreement, it was stated that Ubisoft will have cloud broadcast rights for games to be published within 15 years. This decision appears to have been enough to satisfy the CMA. Here is the statement made by CMA:
Selling Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft will prevent the distribution of major and popular content, including games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft, from falling under Microsoft’s control regarding cloud gaming. The restructured agreement largely addresses concerns the CMA had following its original investigation, which concluded earlier this year.
Following the decision from the CMA, the way has been paved for the largest merger in the history of the game. But there remains one potential obstacle. As you know, the FTC is moving forward with its attempt to challenge the settlement. There’s a chance this move could force Activision Blizzard to divest some or all of it, rather than blocking the deal. However, such a legal struggle will take years and is unlikely to bear fruit.
It should be noted that when the deal is completed, Microsoft will own many AAA games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Diablo. Moreover, as a result of this merger, many productions are expected to be added to the Game Pass subscription service. However, games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 will not be included in the service until next year.
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