Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition to Move Forward Following Preliminary Approval in UK
On the condition that Microsoft sells off Activision’s cloud gaming rights.
Microsoft has finally received preliminary approval from the UK’s regulatory body, the Competition and Markets Authority (or CMA), to buy Activision Blizzard.
The company first announced its intention to acquire Activision in January 2022 but the move hasn’t been without roadblocks. Following months of deliberation, the CMA gave its stamp of approval on an amended version of the $69 billion USD deal.
In its ruling, the CMA detailed why the original deal had been blocked: the likelihood that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision would harm competition in the cloud gaming market. In August, Microsoft submitted a revised version of the deal that would see the company sell off Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft, which would step in to fill in the role Activision held in the cloud gaming market. Ubisoft would also become the owner of major titles such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft.
The “sale of Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft substantially addresses previous concerns and opens the door to the deal being cleared,” the CMA wrote.
The CMA still has a few concerns over the deal and is giving Microsoft until October 6 to propose “remedies” that would help the regulator enforce the sale of Activision’s cloud gaming rights. Soon after, the regulator is expected to make a final decision regarding the acquisition’s approval.
In other tech news, Microsoft announced two new Surface laptops.
