The European Commission has given the green light to Microsoft’s planned takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard.

The decision was made in Brussels and involves a deal worth 69 billion dollars. The EU competition watchdogs have given their approval to the deal.

 

 

The approval followed concessions by Microsoft to ensure that competitors will continue to have access to Activision’s games, particularly the popular Call of Duty series. Microsoft had to meet certain conditions to ensure that competition in the video game market was maintained.

Interestingly, the merger was blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about three weeks ago. The CMA justified its decision on the grounds that the merger might leave the fast-growing cloud gaming market in the UK with less innovation and choice in the future. However, these concerns were not shared by the European Commission.

The approval of the EU competition watchdogs was already granted a week before the set deadline of 22 May. Thus, from a European point of view, nothing more stands in the way of the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. The decision has implications for the video games industry and could bring changes in the market structure and in the publishing strategies of the companies involved.