The European Commission (EC) has given its approval to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, bringing the tech giant one step closer to completing the historic deal. The EC, which enforces EU policies, announced on its website that the acquisition has been approved under the EU Merger Regulation. While the EC and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) both found that the transaction would not harm the console market, the EC expressed concerns about the potential impact on the cloud gaming market. However, Microsoft's proposed remedies appear to have satisfied the EC.
The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming.
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The European Commission (EC) stated that the deal will bring "significant improvements" to the cloud gaming market. This is in contrast to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which blocked the deal last month. To address concerns of a potential monopoly, Microsoft has pledged to license consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) for 10 years, allowing any cloud streaming service to offer Activision Blizzard games to users in the EEA. The EC's approval is a significant step forward for Microsoft, but the company still faces obstacles, including the CMA's move to block the takeover and an investigation by the US Fair Trade Commission.
Source: IGN