Microsoft's $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Clears Hurdle in EU

The executive branch of the European Union has given a green light to Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the gaming giant behind Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. The $69 billion deal was opposed by rival game developer Sony over fears it would see Microsoft's Xbox platform push it out of the market. However, Microsoft has offered enough remedies to address antitrust concerns, specifically with regards to cloud gaming, paving the way for the proposed acquisition.

Key Takeaways:

• The European Commission found that Microsoft's remedies, outlined in a 10-year plan, would ensure that gamers have the right to stream games with any cloud game streaming service of their choice and play them on any device using any operating system.
• The commission concluded that the proposed acquisition, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns and would ultimately unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers.
• Microsoft has been required to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services, which will apply globally and empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose.
• The proposed acquisition is a significant step for Microsoft in its push to dominate the cloud-gaming market, with both Activision and Microsoft's shares moving higher during the trading day on Monday.
• The European Commission has expressed concerns over whether Microsoft would come to dominate the cloud-gaming market through the acquisition, and rival game developers are likely to continue opposing the deal.

Statistics:

• $69 billion: The value of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
• 10 years: The duration of Microsoft's plan to license Activision Blizzard games to competing cloud gaming services.
• 1: The number of popular Activision Blizzard games that will be subject to automatic licensing by Microsoft.
• 60 million: The estimated number of gamers worldwide who will benefit from competing cloud gaming services.

Sources:

• CNBS, Microsoft CFO: EU to Require Microsoft to License Activision Games (2023)
• European Commission, Antitrust: Commission clears Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard (2023)
• Microsoft, Microsoft’s Plan for Cloud Gaming (2023)