Microsoft has cleared the final hurdle to take over video game giant Activision Blizzard. Britain’s antitrust watchdog CMA approved the $69 billion deal on Friday after the agency initially vetoed it over competition concerns. After more than a year and a half of back and forth, Microsoft can now swallow the provider of video games such as “Call of Duty”, “World of Warcraft”, “Overwatch” and “Candy Crush”. It is the largest acquisition in the video game industry of all time. For comparison: Ten years ago, Disney bought all the rights to the “Star Wars” films, series and further exploitation – for around four billion dollars.
The British antitrust watchdogs were particularly concerned that the purchase of Activision Blizzard would restrict competition in cloud gaming. The games run on servers on the Internet and are only transferred to the users’ devices. It is feared that after the takeover, Microsoft would only be able to offer the games on its Xbox console and its own cloud service. The company has now committed to making the games available for ten years on consoles such as Sony’s Playstation, Nintendo’s Switch and on cloud platforms from other providers.
Microsoft thanked us and Activision Blizzard was also pleased
As a concession, Microsoft also offered to hand over some cloud gaming rights to the French gaming company Ubisoft for 15 years. “The new agreement will prevent Microsoft from restricting competition in the cloud gaming market, which is gaining momentum,” the CMA said. They ensure competitive prices and services for UK customers. The European Union had already approved the takeover under certain conditions in May. The US antitrust authority FTC had previously failed in its attempt to prevent the deal with a court order. She will continue to contest the deal even after it is completed. But it is unlikely that she can still prevent the deal.
Microsoft thanked the CMA “for its thorough review and decision.” Activision Blizzard also reacted happily: “The CMA’s official approval is great news for our future with Microsoft, and we look forward to becoming part of the Xbox team,” said a spokesperson. The deal improves the video game manufacturer’s position in a multi-billion dollar market: in 2022, the gaming industry generated around 201 billion euros in sales worldwide.
With the new business models of the so-called Metaverse, i.e. those self-contained digital spaces that can be accessed using VR glasses, Apple and Google are also pushing into the game console market. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo currently dominate this market. Google and Apple in particular have completely different options than a game manufacturer when it comes to digital platforms and the use of artificial intelligence. With Microsoft, Activision Blizzard is significantly better positioned to compete with the tech giants.