In what is being hailed as the gaming industry's biggest-ever deal, Microsoft took over Call of Duty-maker Activision Blizzard for a massive $69 billion.
The deal was finalised after Britain's competition watchdog, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), cleared it after much hold-up. “The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” CNBCTV 18 quoted the regulator as saying in a statement.
This was a turnaround in the regulator's stance which had previously opposed the deal saying allowing Microsoft, which owns the Xbox gaming console, to take such a strong position in the nascent cloud gaming market would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities.
Now, CMA reportedly said its concerns have been addressed and hence the go-ahead to the deal, announced in early 2022, was granted.
According to media reports, the CMA hurdle was cleared after Microsoft agreed to sell the streaming rights of Activision's games to Ubisoft Entertainment.
Calling the deal "incredible" Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, said "Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here - and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn't where you play your favorite franchise."
While Microsoft has given Ubisoft the permission to distribute Activision's games on consoles and PCs over the cloud, the former will have control over popular games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch and World of Warcraft which are cash cows. The deal may also help Microsoft outsmart its rival Sony whose PlayStation has been attracting more gaming customers than Xbox console in recent times.
Microsoft's president Brad Smith thanked CMA for its "thorough review and decision".
"The CMA's official approval is great news for our future with Microsoft, and we look forward to becoming part of the Xbox Team," Activision Blizzard said, reported Reuters.
