Microsoft on Tuesday submitted a new deal to U.K. regulators for the takeover of Activision Blizzard after the rejection of its initial proposal.
Microsoft on Tuesday submitted a new deal to U.K. regulators for the takeover of Activision Blizzard after the rejection of its initial proposal.
The U.S. technology giant first put forward the $69 billion acquisition of Activision in January 2022 but has since faced regulatory challenges in the U.S., Europe and U.K.
On Tuesday, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority confirmed it has blocked the original deal. However, it said both Microsoft and Activision have agreed to a new, restructured agreement, which the CMA will now investigate with a decision deadline of Oct. 18.
The Redmond tech giant anticipates the review can be completed before this time, Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a Tuesday statement.
Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years, the CMA said.
Instead, these rights will be divested to French game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the CMA added.CMA blockade
The CMA has been the toughest critic of the takeover, citing concerns that the deal would hamper competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.
Cloud gaming is seen as the next frontier in the industry, offering subscription services that allow people to stream games just as they would movies or shows on Netflix. It could even remove the need for expensive consoles, with users playing the games on PCs, mobile and TVs instead.
