Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal finally gets green light from UK regulators

Microsoft has been given the green light to acquire Activision Blizzard by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority today, Oct. 13.

In August, Microsoft cut a new deal that would see Ubisoft purchase Activision’s cloud gaming rights. This trick put all of Activision’s PC and console content in the hands of Ubisoft, and it was enough to convince the U.K. government to finally seal the deal.

“As a result of this concession, the CMA agreed to look afresh at the deal and launched a new investigation in August. That investigation has completed today with the CMA clearing this narrower transaction,” the U.K’s Competition and Markets Authority said.

This was pivotal as it blocked Microsoft from completely dominating the competition in cloud gaming, which was one of the main reasons the U.K. government didn’t want to proceed with the deal in the first place. “The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” the CMA said. With the cloud gaming services acquired by Ubisoft, the competition should still remain healthy enough to allow the deal to come through.

Brad Smith, the vice chair and president of Microsoft, didn’t hide his excitement on social media following the CMA’s review. “We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide,” he said.

The buyout was originally blocked by the CMA in April 2023 over cloud gaming concerns. The main fear was it would “damage competition in the cloud gaming market.” In August, however, Microsoft made a streaming deal with Ubisoft that would see Activision Blizzard’s games added to the Ubisoft+ service.