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The United Kingdom’s antitrust regulator has given its clearance for Microsoft’s (MSFT) acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI), the company behind “Call of Duty.” This decision comes after the revised deal effectively addressed previous concerns raised by the regulator.
In August, Activision had agreed to sell its streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment, and last month, Microsoft presented solutions to ensure that the sale’s terms would be enforceable by the regulator, alleviating some remaining concerns.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated, “The new deal will prevent Microsoft from monopolizing competition in the growing cloud gaming market, ensuring competitive pricing and services for UK cloud gaming customers.”
Microsoft’s announcement of the largest gaming deal in history in early 2022 faced a setback in April when Britain’s competition regulator blocked the $69 billion acquisition. The regulator was worried that the US technology giant would gain excessive control over the emerging cloud gaming market.
Microsoft expressed its gratitude for the CMA’s comprehensive review and favorable decision. Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said, “We have now overcome the final regulatory hurdle to complete this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the global gaming industry.”
