EU approves Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard
EU regulators have approved Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, mere weeks after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal(opens in new tab). The European Commission noted various concerns about the takeover but accepted commitments from Microsoft that, it said, adequately addressed areas like cloud gaming.
The news will delight suits at both companies (who were spitting feathers(opens in new tab) after the CMA decision) after they spent months trying to assuage any doubts. The European Commission report(opens in new tab) says Microsoft's «commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation».
The Commission says an in-depth investigation concluded «Microsoft would not be able to harm rival consoles and rival multi-game subscription services» should the deal conclude, though could potentially «harm competition in the distribution of games via cloud game streaming services» and strengthen its position in the market for PC operating systems (where, outside of Apple devices, Microsoft arguably already has a monopoly).
The report says, somewhat optimistically, that there would be «no incentive» for Microsoft to refuse to distribute Activision Blizzard games on Sony consoles, noting that PlayStation outsells Xbox four-to-one in Europe. It adds that, even should Microsoft decide to do so, «this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market».
It was much more concerned about the potential harm in cloud gaming, and says that to address its concerns Microsoft offered the following commitments, all with a 10-year duration:
The EU reckons these
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