EU backs Microsoft buying Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. But the $69B deal is still at risk
The European Union has approved Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard
LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Monday approved the $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard by MSFT" target="_blank">Microsoft (MSFT), deciding the deal won’t stifle competition for popular console titles like Call of Duty and accepting the U.S. tech company’s remedies to boost competition in cloud gaming.
But the blockbuster deal is still in jeopardy because British regulators have rejected it and U.S. authorities are trying to thwart it.
The deal, sweetened by Microsoft's promises to free up licensing conditions for cloud gaming, “would no longer raise competition concerns and would ultimately unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers,” said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust watchdog.
The all-cash deal announced more than a year ago has been scrutinized by regulators around the world over fears that it would give Microsoft and its Xbox console control of Activision’s hit franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
