Xbox Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Approved by European Commission
Summary
Xbox’s pending acquisition of the recently controversial game giant Activision Blizzard has been approved by the European Commission (EC). The EC agrees with many of the UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decisions on the merger, which determined the deal was harmless to the console industry but may pose a threat to cloud gaming. “Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world,” said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in a statement. “We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.” Microsoft must now appeal the CMA’s decision to block the deal, which will delay the company’s original goal of closing by June 2023. If Microsoft were to be victorious, many additional steps would still need to be made, including winning over the Federal Trade Commission, which also moved to block the deal in December 2022.
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