The Regulatory authorities of the European Union have approved the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. This is an important victory for those from Redmond after receiving a contrary resolution a few days ago in the United Kingdom, where the authorities have not only prohibited the operation, but have also informed Microsoft that it must refrain from intervening in Activision. The deal also faces scrutiny. and some opposition, in the United States. If it were to go ahead, it would make Redmond the third largest game publisher in the world, behind Tencent and Sony.
This green light from the EU has been taken despite views from various quarters that the deal could harm competition in some respects. Especially when it comes to cloud gaming services, which are growing rapidly. To clear up these doubts, Microsoft has made several concessions, as assured by the European Commission.
Among these concessions is the commitment that, for a period of 10 years, European consumers will be able to play Activision titles on any cloud gaming service. Microsoft has also promised not to reduce the quality of the content, nor that of the games available on other rival streaming platforms.
With these concessionsthe concerns identified by the Commission are fully resolved«. They also representa significant improvement for streaming cloud gaming compared to the current situation«, as stated by the Commission. In addition, Microsoft has ensured that the commitments it has acquired with the European Union to obtain authorization for the operation with Activision will go beyond the territory of the EU.
As for the decision issued by the UK regulatory authorities on the deal, Microsoft is going to appeal their decision, and it will still be several months before the process of appeal and review of the decision ends. According to The Verge, the decision by the European Union may boost the chances of finally getting the green light for the operation, although it has yet to get the positive verdict in several countries apart from the US and the UK.
So far, in addition to the EU, the agreement has obtained the go-ahead from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, Serbia, Japan and South Africa. In China, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia are still reviewing it. The next big hurdle he has to overcome is in the United States, where the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Activision’s purchase agreement late last year. The case is still in the documentation examination phase, and a hearing on evidence has been set for August 2, so there are still many months left until the outcome of the case arrives.
Brad Smith, President of Microsofthas remembered On twitter that “The European Commission has asked Microsoft to license Activision Blizzard’s most popular games automatically to competing cloud gaming services. This will apply globally, allowing millions of consumers around the world to play these games on their preferred device.«.
