The US software giant still faces a battle to secure its $69 billion deal as Britain has blocked it and the US is trying to block it.
Microsoft Corp secured European Union antitrust clearance for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision on Monday, in a significant boost that could lead Chinese and Korean regulators to follow suit despite a UK veto over the deal.
The US software giant still faces a battle to close a deal. It has until May 24 to appeal a UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision to block it. A final decision may take months. The United States Federal Trade Commission’s case against the deal is also pending at the agency.
The European Commission said the biggest deal ever in gaming was pro-competitive because of Microsoft’s licensing deals.
Such licenses are “practical and effective,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager told reporters.
“Actually, they significantly improve the condition for cloud game streaming compared to the current situation, which is why we actually consider them pro-competitive,” she added.
The EU watchdog said Microsoft has offered 10-year free licensing deals to European consumers and cloud game streaming services for Activision’s PC and console games.
Microsoft has signed such deals in recent months with Nvidia, Nintendo, Boosteroid of Ukraine and Ubitus of Japan to bring Activision’s Call of Duty to their gaming platforms if the deal goes through.
“The European Commission has required Microsoft to automatically license popular Activision Blizzard games to competing cloud gaming services. This will be global and will enable millions of consumers around the world to play these games on any device they choose,” said Brad Smith, President of Microsoft.
Vestager said the Commission has a different assessment of how the cloud gaming market will grow as opposed to the UK.
“They see this market developing faster than we would think,” she said. “There’s a bit of a paradox here, because we think the remedies we’ve taken will make it possible to license much, much more in the cloud gaming markets.”
The British Competition and Markets Authority said it would stand by its veto. Microsoft is appealing to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a decision that is expected to take months.
The other major hurdle remaining is the US Federal Trade Commission, which is trying to block the deal. Japan approved the acquisition in March.