Europe validates the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft (but sets its conditions)

Finally, Microsoft gets a first clear victory in his Way of the Cross for the redemption ofActivision Blizzard. The European Commission has in fact just given the green light to the takeover, but still conditions the acquisition of the publisher on the respect of certain commitments, in particular with regard to the market for dematerialized games accessible by streaming. For Europe, the commitments made by Microsoft “fully address the competition concerns raised by the Commission”but the Commission gives itself the right to monitor Microsoft’s actions in order to verify that the promises will be kept.

This favorable opinion from Europe will undoubtedly give wings (and arguments) to Microsoft’s lawyers, who know that they will still have to fight if only to obtain a review of the negative opinion of the CMA, not to mention the tough battle that awaits Microsoft on its soil against the all-powerful FTC, which has filed a complaint against the takeover. At least the Redmond firm has a decision on which to rely to assert the legitimacy of the measures taken to guarantee the free play of competition. Will this be enough to influence the position of American and British regulators? It’s probably too early to tell…

#EUMergerControl Commission 🇪🇺 clears acquisition of Activision Blizzard 🎮by Microsoft, subject to conditions 👇

🔗➡️https://t.co/qG3D0jNfPo pic.twitter.com/Q3P2miYisH

— EU Competition (@EU_Competition) May 15, 2023