EU Commission approves Microsoft Activision-Blizzard Merger against the UK CMA
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Activision Blizzard and Microsoft’s merger has been approved by the European Commission (EC), marking a significant development for the gaming industry. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick hailed the decision as a positive step towards benefiting players and fostering healthy competition.
In contrast, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opposed the merger already, but are exposed as alone in their opposition.
The EC‘s approval follows the endorsement of careful regulators in several other countries, solidifying the credibility and importance of this merger. Apparently, Call of Duty is less popular outside of target areas.
Microsoft gets approval from EU Commission
As part of the approval, Microsoft agreed to specific conditions set by the EC. As part of these conditions, Activision-Blizzard must grant licenses to cloud gaming providers and enforce procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
The EC’s approval is without a doubt a significant step forward, but the merger is not guaranteed to be completed. Microsoft still faces additional hurdles from appealing the UK decision and convincing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US. The UK CMA has expressed its strong disagreement with the EC’s decision, asserting that it undermines a free, open, and competitive market.
According to the CMA, Microsoft will have extensive control over the market for the next decade, which is in opposition to its vision of an industry that is fair and unregulated. It’s clear that a strong-arm tactic will be the only way to change the UK CMA’s mind.
The success of Microsoft’s appealing the UK CMA’s decision and arguing its case for the US FTC will determine the merger’s fate. Their best bet is to convince the US FTC and then the UK CMA will be alone in its opposition.
In this case, Microsoft only needs to pressure the UK CMA into approving, as they’ll be the odd one out.
