Microsoft and Activision Blizzard clear major hurdle in acquisition saga, but deal isn’t done

Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard is a step closer to being approved following reports today that the deal has been approved by European regulators.

The European Commission has approved the deal, according to reports by The Verge and Axios, allowing it to officially be passed in the European Union. Microsoft made key concessions and adjustments regarding cloud gaming that appeased the EU regulatory body, and the Commission’s report reflects those concessions as well as the Commission’s relaxed concerns regarding competition.

“Microsoft would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision’s games to Sony…[and] would have strong incentives to continue distributing Activision’s games via a device as popular as Sony’s PlayStation,” according to the report. “Even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision’s games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market.”

The European Commission did, however, acknowledge that the deal would “harm competition in the distribution of PC and console games via cloud game streaming services” if Microsoft were to make Activision games exclusive to Game Pass and withhold them from rival streaming providers. But commitments made by Microsoft will address these concerns, according to the European Commission.

Microsoft will offer European consumers a free license to stream all current and future Activision Blizzard games to “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” over the next 10 years at least. The company will also offer a free license to cloud game streaming service providers that will allow EU gamers to stream any Activision Blizzard games.

Concerns regarding a potential Microsoft monopoly of cloud gaming were one of the primary reasons why the U.K. regulatory body, the Competition and Markets Authority, blocked the purchase in April. Additionally, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block the acquisition in December.

“We intend to meaningfully expand our investment and workforce throughout the EU, and we’re excited for the benefits our transaction brings to players in Europe and around the world,” Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement following the report from the European Commission.