Microsoft’s attempted $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard is one step closer to becoming a reality. The European Commission, under the European Merger Regulation, approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
“Today’s decision follows an in-depth investigation of the proposed acquisition of Activision by Microsoft,” said the EU Commission in a statement (emphasis in original).
“The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services,” said Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith.
LOOKING INTO THE RULING FROM THE EU COMMISSION
When investigating the ramifications of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the European Commission made several discoveries.
First, they ruled that “Microsoft would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision’s games to Sony, which is the leading distributor of consolegames worldwide (emphasis in original).”
They continue, saying that even if Microsoft made Activision games unavailable on the PlayStation platform, it “would not significantly harm competition in the consolesmarket.”
One significant discovery from the investigation is that regardless of the deal’s outcome, Activision would not make its games available for competing subscription services.
The EU Commission did express concern about harming competition regarding the distribution of games through cloud gaming streaming services. A proposed remedy includes a comprehensive 10-year licensing agreement.