EU approves Microsoft’s £55bn acquisition of Call Of Duty – just weeks after it was blocked by UK competition watchdog
European regulators have approved Microsoft’s £55bn mega merger with Call Of Duty maker Activision Blizzard – weeks after it was blocked by Britain’s competition watchdog.
The European Commission has given the green light for the link, provided that Microsoft ensures that Activision’s game catalog will be available for free on other cloud game streaming providers for the next ten years.
The decision marked a dramatic break with Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which faced a barrage of criticism last month after rejecting the merger.
Approved: The European Commission has given the green light to Microsoft’s £55bn mega merger with Call Of Duty maker Activision Blizzard
The CMA argued that this would lead to “less innovation and less choice for UK gamers in years to come”.
Activision attacked the CMA’s findings, saying the decision showed the UK was “obviously closed for business.”
Activision and Microsoft plan to appeal the decision.
The European Commission, on the other hand, said that the commitments made by Microsoft and Activision to maintain competition “contain significant benefits for competition and consumers.”
Commenting on the decision, Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith said: “The European Commission has required Microsoft to automatically license popular Activision Blizzard games to competing cloud gaming services.”
The decision raises new questions about the future of the deal, which will require approval from UK, European and US regulators to pass.
Microsoft and Activision are already assembling a legal team to challenge the UK ruling, while in the US the Federal Trade Commission is filing a lawsuit to block the merger with a court hearing in August.
But time is running out to get the deal over the line.
Microsoft has until July 18 to complete the merger before paying Activision a termination fee of up to £2.4 billion.