The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $69 billion was approved by British regulators on Friday, strengthening the Xbox owner’s position in the video-gaming business with top-grossing games like “Call of Duty” to better fight with Sony’s Playstation.
The acquisition, unveiled in early 2022, had been halted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in April because they believed it may have given the American computer giant a monopoly over the burgeoning cloud gaming business. The deadlock, however, was broken by asking the Xbox owner to sell the streaming rights in order to allay its worries about competition.
“The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” the authority said in a statement.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission initially opposed the purchase as well, but ultimately was unable to do so – whereas the European Commission gave the go-ahead to the project following Microsoft’s promises to license Activision titles like “Overwatch” and “World of Warcraft” to other platforms in May.
Microsoft expressed its gratitude by stating it was “grateful for the CMA’s thorough review and decision”. “We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide,” Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said.
Activision Blizzard said: “The CMA’s official approval is great news for our future with Microsoft, and we look forward to becoming part of the Xbox Team.”
Microsoft expects the purchase will help it improve its position in the gaming sector and more effectively compete with market giants Tencent and Sony.
