European Union Likely to Pass Xbox's $69 Billion Buyout of Activision | Push Square

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According to a Reuters report, the European Union will apparently not object to Microsoft’s unprecedented $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard. The Redmond firm went on a charm offensive in Brussels last week, signing a variety of deals with Nintendo and NVidia GeForce Now, promising Call of Duty for at least the next 10 years should the deal clear. During a press event in which Xbox “paraded” its minuscule market share compared to PlayStation, suit Brad Smith held aloft a contract for Sony, awaiting its signature.

And it looks like it did the job: sources claim the EU is unlikely to object to the deal going through, and it’ll not demand Microsoft sell off some of the assets, as had been proposed by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. In a statement released shortly after the latest round of reports, the Windows maker reiterated that it’s “committed to offering effective and easily enforceable solutions that address the European Commission’s concerns”.

It added: “Our commitment to grant long term 100 per cent equal access to Call of Duty to Sony, Steam, NVidia, and others preserves the deal's benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market.”

Of course, while this would be a big win for Microsoft, there’s still a lot of road left before this clears. As mentioned above, the company still needs to win over the UK’s CMA and the USA’s Federal Trade Commission. Earlier this week, a court ruling concluded that Sony will need to share sensitive documents with its rival regarding its own exclusivity relationships with other publishers.

A true PlayStation veteran, Sammy's covered the world of PS gaming for years, with an enormous Trophy count to prove it. He also likes tennis games way more