1 of 2 | The European Commission said Monday that Microsoft has done enough to address concerns about monopolizing the cloud to move forward with its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the maker of games such as Call of Duty (pictured, 2019). File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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May 15 (UPI) -- The executive branch of the European Union said Monday that Microsoft has offered enough remedies to address antitrust concerns, paving the way for the proposed $69 billion acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard.
The acquisition was opposed by rival game developer and PlayStation console maker Sony over fears it would see Microsoft's Xbox platform push it out of the market. Market regulators globally, meanwhile, expressed concern over whether Microsoft would come to dominate the cloud-gaming market through the acquisition.
On Monday, however, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said Microsoft had done enough to allay concerns on cloud gaming specifically to warrant a positive decision on the merger.
Activision by itself doesn't license or stream its games for cloud-based services. While the commission found that Microsoft wouldn't gain leverage over its competition for subscription-based gaming platforms, it would be able to distort the market by monopolizing the cloud.
The European Commission found that remedies outlined in a 10-year plan by Microsoft, however, would ensure that gamers "have the right to stream those games with any cloud game streaming service of their choice and play them on any device using any operating system," thereby addressing its concerns.
"Taking into consideration the feedback of the market, the commission concluded that the proposed acquisition, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns and would ultimately unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers," it stated.
After the British government shot down the merger in April, officials at Microsoft said the European Union may be a better place to do business.
"The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services," Microsoft President Brad Smith was quoted by CNBC as saying. "This will apply globally and will empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose."
Activision Blizzard is behind games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft, among the most popular games of their kind. Shares in both Activision and Microsoft were moving higher during the trading day on Monday.
