The European Union has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The EU Commission said there was “little horizontal overlap” between Microsoft’s game console Xbox and Activision’s games and that the transaction “will not reduce consumers’ choices too much”.
Still, the European Union wanted Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard to reduce competition in areas such as cloud gaming services and PC operating systems, so Microsoft wanted some guarantees. For example, we can talk about some conditions such as Microsoft’s licensing of games by Activision Blizzard to rival cloud gaming services. These terms will allow gamers in Europe to play Activision Blizzard’s games on any device and cloud gaming service. Microsoft already promised that Activision would continue to offer its games on other platforms.
Of course, this approval does not mean that the obstacles in front of Microsoft are over. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) vetoed the deal in recent weeks. In addition, the US Federal Trade Commission continues to review the deal.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard could lead to a big change in the gaming industry. Activision Blizzard owns popular games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch. Microsoft, on the other hand, is the producer of games such as Halo, Minecraft, Forza, as well as game platforms such as Xbox and Game Pass. If the deal finally happens, Microsoft will become the third largest force in the gaming market.
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