The EU Will Reportedly Approve Microsoft Activision Merger Next Week
thegamer.comWhile the UK CMA recently blocked the Activision Blizzard merger, the European Commission will reportedly choose to approve it next week.
This is according to Reuters, which says that the acquisition is expected to clear due to the fact that Microsoft agreed to licensing deals with rivals in the cloud streaming market. These include Nvidia, Boosteroid, Ubitus, and more. It also plans to bring its games to more markets such as Valve's Steam storefront and Nintendo, all in a bid to help ease fears of the deal hindering competition.
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The Commission has set a deadline of May 22 for its decision, though it's expected to make the announcement on May 15. If approved, it will join Japan, Ukraine, South Africa, Chile, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. That still leaves the UK, however, which Microsoft and Activision are working to change.
The deal was blocked due to fears that Microsoft would monopolise cloud gaming, and the CMA even revealed that its normal practice "would be to prevent a future merger between the Parties for the next ten years, absent a change of circumstances". The change could involve Sony expanding into the cloud, but in the meantime, CMA says that the only solution right now is to scrap the merger. If this is the route Microsoft takes, it will owe Activision a $3 billion "breakup fee", which is no doubt part of the reason why it's standing its ground.
Activision said the CMA's decision was a "disservice to UK citizens". In the same statement, given by CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey, she stated that Activision and Microsoft will work "to reverse it on appeal", adding that UK citizens "face increasingly dire economic prospects" as part of
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