Two years after it was first announced, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) finally approves the nearly $70 billion acquisition, the largest ever in the gaming industry.
It’s finally done! The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has just approved Microsoft’s nearly $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard after holding up the deal because of antitrust concerns.
In an Xbox website post this morning, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wrote, “We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community. And today, we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox. They are the publishers of some of the most played and most beloved franchises in gaming history across console, PC and mobile. From Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft to Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga to Farm Heroes Saga, their studios have pushed the boundaries of gaming for players around the world.”
Brad Smith, Vice Chair at Microsoft, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “We’re grateful for the CMA’s thorough review and decision today. We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide.”
In a previous effort to appease the CMA, Microsoft and Activision amended the deal, agreeing that “Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years (excluding the European Economic Area).” The rights instead would be divested to Ubisoft Entertainment SA.
Late last month, after considering the concession to sell cloud-gaming rights to competitor Ubisoft, the CMA said in a statement, “The C.M.A. considers that the restructured deal makes important changes that substantially address the concerns it set out in relation to the original transaction earlier this year.”
The CMA was reportedly under immense pressure to approve the groundbreaking deal. “When you are the last man standing, you cannot realistically block a deal when the U.K. represents less that 5 percent of the global revenues,” said Tommaso Valletti, a professor of economics at Imperial College Business School to The New York Times.
The deal represents the biggest gaming industry acquisition ever, adding to the Xbox business such titles as Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
