EU authorizes agreement between Microsoft and Activision – 05/15/2023 – Market

European Union antitrust regulators on Monday cleared Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision, saying remedial measures proposed by the U.S. software giant had met to your concerns.

The European Commission said Microsoft offered 10-year free licensing deals to European consumers and cloud game streaming services to stream games from Activision’s computers and consoles.

“The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming compared to the current situation,” the European Union’s competition regulator said in a statement.

Three weeks ago, the UK competition authority blocked the deal, the industry’s biggest transaction in gaming history, over concerns it would hurt competition in the game-streaming space.

The bloc’s antitrust authority is expected to clear the acquisition after Microsoft agreed to make streaming licensing deals with companies including Nvidia, Boosteroid and Ubitus, other sources said in March.

The company also has agreements with Nintendo and Valve, owner of the largest video game distribution platform in the world, Steam, to bring Activision’s “Call of Duty” title to their platforms if the purchase is completed.

Japan approved the deal in March. In the United States, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is trying to stop the deal.