UK's CMA clears Microsoft's $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday that it has cleared Microsoft’s proposed $69bn acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard.

In August, Microsoft made a concession that would see Ubisoft, instead of Microsoft, buy Activision’s cloud gaming rights.

This new deal will put the cloud streaming rights - outside the EEA - for all of Activision’s PC and console content produced over the next 15 years in the hands of "a strong and independent competitor with ambitious plans to offer new ways of accessing that content," the CMA said.

The watchdog said that Microsoft buying Activision without cloud gaming rights "would preserve competitive prices and better services".

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: "The CMA is resolute in its determination to prevent mergers that harm competition and deliver bad outcomes for consumers and businesses. We take our decisions free from political influence and we won’t be swayed by corporate lobbying. 

"We delivered a clear message to Microsoft that the deal would be blocked unless they comprehensively addressed our concerns and stuck to our guns on that.

"With the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we’ve made sure Microsoft can’t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market. As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice. We are the only competition agency globally to have delivered this outcome."