The latest report reveals that another commission has now approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
European Commission Clears Microsoft’s Controversial Deal
It was announced that the European Commission has now approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This has an attached condition though: Microsoft should fully comply with a number of commitments related to the cloud gaming market.
The EU Commission’s investigation into the acquisition revealed that the deal would not harm rival consoles and rival multi-game subscription services. It was noted though that it could harm competition in the distribution of games via cloud game streaming services and in the supply of PC operating systems.
Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Has Some Conditions
Microsoft offered licensing commitments to make it work, which seems the EU Commission agreed to. These conditions will have a 10-year duration.
- A free license to consumers in the EEA that would allow them to stream, via any cloud game streaming services of their choice, all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games for which they have a license.
- A corresponding free license to cloud game streaming service providers to allow EEA-based gamers to stream any Activision Blizzard’s PC and console games.
An independent trustee will be in charge of monitoring the implementation of the remedies under the supervision of the EU Commission.
“These licenses will ensure that gamers that have purchased one or more Activision games on a PC or console store, or that have subscribed to a multi-game subscription service that includes Activision games, have the right to stream those games with any cloud game streaming service of their choice and play them on any device using any operating system,” the EU Commission stated.
“The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation.”
European Commission Joins Other Countries Clearing Deal
The European Commission now joins other countries that have cleared the acquisition: Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Serbia, Chile, Japan, South Africa, and Ukraine.
Organizations Opposing Deal
Only two organizations have opposed the acquisition: UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the US Federal Trade Commission.
