EU Backs Microsoft's $69 Billion Takeover of Call of Duty Maker Activision Blizzard
The EU on Monday gave the green light to Microsoft's $69-billion (roughly Rs. 5,65,480 crore) takeover bid for US video game giant Activision Blizzard, just weeks after the British competition regulator put the deal at risk by blocking it.
The deal is also under threat in the US giant's homeland, where last year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a legal action to block it, one of Washington's biggest ever interventions to stop tech industry consolidation.
Xbox-owner Microsoft launched its gigantic bid for Activision Blizzard early last year to create the world's third biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony, provoking antitrust concerns.
Activision Blizzard's hit titles also include Candy Crush and World of Warcraft. If it goes ahead, it will be the biggest deal ever in gaming.
The European Commission, the bloc's powerful antitrust authority, said the approval was "conditional on full compliance with the commitments offered by Microsoft".
"The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation," it added in a statement.
The commission said if Microsoft lives up to its promises, it will allow gamers to stream Activision's titles on any cloud gaming streaming services operating in Europe.
"The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services," Microsoft vice chair Brad Smith said.
"This will apply globally and will empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose."
But, unless Microsoft wins an appeal against the block by
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