The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services. This will apply globally and will empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose.
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) May 15, 2023
As the Tweet from Vice Chair and President of Microsoft indicates, EU regulators have approved Microsoft's proposed purchase of Activision-Blizzard. The EU joins Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, Serbia, Japan, and South Africa in approving the deal. China, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia are still processing the proposed merger and business regulators in these countries have yet to render verdicts. It is worth noting that Microsoft is not getting Activision-Blizzard willy-nilly and they have accepted the same concessions they have given to all federal regulators in promising to grant 10 year licenses for its games to anyone who wants them, regardless of their platform. With such a large block of the world now giving the deal a thumbs up, Microsoft is unlikely to give up or seek what many considered the "nuclear option" which would have involved them signing unofficially exclusivity deals and buying IP rights piecemeal.
In terms of the UK, current prime minister Rishi Sunak is already showing signs that his preference would have been that the purchase go through with the same concessions that satisfied EU regulators. Conservative MPs grilled the leader of the CMA demanding him to justify blocking the deal in light of the EU decision. The UK government's Business and Trade Committee questioned whether the CMA had considered the effects of blocking a deal like this on the UK's international reputation. To bolster hopes of a successful appeal, Activision has hired David Pannick, Baron Pannick. In terms of the United States, while the FTC is standing firm, it is worth pointing out that the Roberts Court is statistically the most pro-business Supreme Court in the modern history of the United States of America.
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