The Competition and Markets Authority, commonly known as CMA, has officially approved the deal involving Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Previously, CMA stated that the deal did not pose any obstruction, according to the new proposal from Microsoft, which involved selling cloud gaming rights of Activision Blizzard to Ubisoft.
Back in April, CMA decided against allowing the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal, stating that it wouldn’t affect competition on the console side. However, it could potentially lead to a concentration of power in the cloud gaming market. To address this concern, Microsoft resolved it by selling game rights on the cloud to other companies, in this case, Ubisoft, with a 15-year license.
Under this proposal, Ubisoft holds the right to distribute Activision Blizzard games to any cloud gaming service provider, without the need for running on Windows, and with flexible monetization models. Activision Blizzard’s games are not limited to Microsoft’s cloud gaming service alone, but this move fosters long-term competition in the cloud gaming market.
Brad Smith, the President of Microsoft, expressed his satisfaction with this decision and expects Microsoft to announce the closing of the Activision Blizzard acquisition today, October 13th, as per the United States time.
TLDR: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft addressed concerns about concentration of power by selling cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft. Under the deal, Ubisoft can distribute Activision Blizzard games on any cloud gaming service with various monetization options. Microsoft is expected to finalize the acquisition on October 13th.
Leave a Comment