Yesterday, the EU confirmed that it approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as long as the company keeps its promises to release games to other platforms and cloud gaming services.
This in turn prompted both the British CMA (which had previously blocked the deal) and a director of Activision Blizzard to comment on the EU’s announcement. The CMA is sticking to its position, as one would expect, writing in a thread on Twitter that the merger would “harm competition in cloud gaming”.
The CMA also claims that Microsoft’s current proposal would “allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years.”. Whether you believe this to be true or not, it is an argument that the CMA will stick with, at least for the foreseeable future.
The outspoken Activision Blizzard boss Lulu Cheng Meservey, however, was satisfied with the EU’s decision. This is also not surprising, as Cheng was clearly frustrated by the CMA’s decision. She writes on Twitter:
“Today the European Commission approved our merger with Microsoft (subject to strict remedies) to ensure robust competition continues in our rapidly growing industry… with the EU’s firm yet pragmatic, unbiased, and fact-driven approach to regulation, we expect these European teams to continue delivering growth and innovation going forward.”
What do you think of the EU’s decision?
