Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Blizzard Acquisition Approved By UK

Microsoft's revised offer to buy Call of Duty-maker Activision Blizzard has been approved by UK regulators. The Competition Markets Authority (CMA), which was the final regulator, has said that it has cleared the deal after it blocked the original $69bn deal in April. Microsoft will hand the rights to distribute Activision's games on consoles and PCs over the cloud to Ubisoft,

“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,” the regulator said in a statement Friday. 

Read more: Microsoft-Activision Hearing Wraps Up As FTC Tries To Block $75 Billion Deal

Microsoft’s $68.7B Activision Acquisition Clears Final Hurdle 

Microsoft first proposed to acquire Activision in January 2022, but has faced regulatory challenges in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. Federal antitrust enforcers sued to block the $69 billion acquisition on the grounds that Microsoft may gain a monopoly in the cloud gaming industry that can prove harmful to its competitors like Sony and Nintendo. Much of the decision rests on the Activision blockbuster franchise, Call of Duty, since Microsoft's business decisions can affect how it is distributed to gamers.

After the CIMA had blocked the takeover in April, Microsoft's president Brad Smith had said it was "bad for Britain". On Friday, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell shared, "Businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA. "Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn't work. Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money."
 

In the States, the Federal Trade Commission was fighting a legal battle with Microsoft in an effort to get the Activision takeover scrapped. But FTC’s attempt to do so was blocked by a judge in July and CMA said it was “ready to consider any proposals from Microsoft to restructure the transaction” to alleviate the regulator’s concerns.
 

The deal is a crucial one for the global gaming industry and will propel Microsoft as a giant in the industry. Its main rival Sony has opposed this deal over concerns that big Activision titles like Call of Duty could become Xbox exclusives over time. The PlayStation currently outsells Microsoft's Xbox but like all entertainment platforms, the key to success is access to the best content.