The Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard By Xbox May Happen Afterall, As The European Commission Has Approved The Deal
Image Source: Culture Slate
The European Commission has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, content with Microsoft’s proposed remedies regarding cloud gaming.
Unlike the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which blocked the deal based on findings of harm to the future of cloud gaming, the European Commission expects that the deal will “represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming compared to the current situation.”
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Much like with other ten-year deals that Microsoft has been issuing, a licensing commitment has been signed that guarantees Activision Blizzard games will not be locked to Microsoft’s own cloud gaming platforms for consumers in the European Economic Area. The popularity of Activision’s games, the European Commission said, could bring growth to the sector, but only if they were distributed on any platform. Locking them to Microsoft-owned platforms would diminish any growth the sector could have.
Vice Chair and President of Microsoft Brad Smith recognized the approval of the European Commission with a tweet, saying that Activision Blizzard games will be licensed automatically to competing cloud gaming platforms. That it would “apply globally and will empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose.”
Cloud gaming has not been the only focus of scrutiny with the acquisition, but the European Commission has disregarded any harm to competition in the console space owing to this deal. Their findings reveal that “even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision’s games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market.”
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Source: IGN
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