Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal Changes the Game

UK regulators have cleared the way for Microsoft to complete its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest such deals in decades.

AFTER MORE THAN 20 months and more hurdles than a track meet, Microsoft has completed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Despite efforts from governments in the US and UK to keep tech giants from increasing in size and reach, Microsoft‘s acquisition of the Call of Duty maker shows the enduring power of major technology companies’even in the face of regulatory obstacles. The last of those obstacles came in April, when the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority blocked the deal. Today, the CMA reversed the decision, clearing the way for Microsoft‘s acquisition to complete.

We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close, and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement to employees.

The closing of the deal offers a peek at gaming’s future, one in which Microsoft now holds a sizable chunk of the market. What’ most interesting about the decision that came out of the UK is the reason it happened. Although a lot of hand-wringing about the deal had focused on whether Microsoft would have too much power in the gaming space broadly, the CMA’s focus had been on cloud gaming. In August, Activision agreed to sell its non-European cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft, a move the CMA believes will ensure competition in the space.

We delivered a clear message to Microsoft that the deal would be blocked unless they comprehensively addressed our concerns and stuck to our guns on that, CMA chief Sarah Cardell said. With the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we have made sure Microsoft can’t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market.