Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal approved by UK regulator
Another hurdle cleared ahead of full closure.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved Microsoft's revised deal to purchase Activision Blizzard.
This leaves the door open for Microsoft to finally complete its proposed $68.7bn acquisition of the Call of Duty and Overwatch maker, over a year and half since it was first announced.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the CMA wrote: "We've cleared the new deal for Microsoft to buy Activision without cloud gaming rights. In August, Microsoft made a concession that would see Ubisoft, instead of Microsoft, buy Activision's cloud gaming rights.
"This new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gamers."
In a statement also shared directly with Eurogamer, Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company was "grateful" for the CMA's review and ultimate decision to approve the deal.
"We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide," Smith wrote.
As a recap, initially, the CMA blocked Microsoft's proposed deal to purchase Activision Blizzard, citing concerns regarding the cloud sector. In August, Microsoft subsequently submitted a revised proposal in a bid to appease the regulator, saying it would now sell the streaming rights for all Activision Blizzard games released in the next 15 years to Ubisoft should the new deal be accepted.
In September, the CMA then said this revised agreement would be enough for it to provisionally approve the deal. Today, this approval is now official.
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA said today: "We delivered a clear message to Microsoft that the deal would be blocked unless they comprehensively addressed our concerns and stuck to our guns on that.
"With the sale of Activision's cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we've made sure Microsoft can't have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market. As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice. We are the only competition agency globally to have delivered this outcome."
In a press release, Cardell blamed the lengthy delay on the deal being approved on Microsoft's own "tactics", before it ultimately restructured the deal by selling cloud rights to Ubisoft.
"Businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA," Cardell warned. "Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work. Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money."
All eyes are now on Microsoft, as it is finally expected to close its deal with Activision Blizzard in the very near future. Eurogamer will keep you abreast of further developments.