The UK regulator has officially approved Microsoft’s Activision acquisition
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially approved Microsoft‘s proposed acquistion of Activision Blizzard.
The CMA has originally blocked the deal in April due to concerns about its impact on the nascent cloud gaming market.
In a bid to allay these concerns, the Xbox maker agreed to sell Ubisoft cloud gaming rights outside the European Economic Area for all Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years.
The CMA announced last month that it had provisionally agreed to allow the deal, and today – following a consultation period – it has now officially cleared the acquisition.
“The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” a CMA statement reads.
“It will allow Ubisoft to offer Activision’s content under any business model, including through multigame subscription services. It will also help to ensure that cloud gaming providers will be able to use non-Windows operating systems for Activision content, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.”
In a somewhat pointed statement, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell acknowledged that the deal was now free to proceed, but criticised Microsoft in the process.
Cardell stated that the CMA’s decision wasn’t down to political influence, a potential reference to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick‘s claim that the UK would become ‘Death Valley’ rather than Silicon Valley if it blocked the deal.
“The CMA is resolute in its determination to prevent mergers that harm competition and deliver bad outcomes for consumers and businesses,” Cardell said. ”We take our decisions free from political influence and we won’t be swayed by corporate lobbying.
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