The European Commission has announced that it has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The European Commission – part of the executive branch of the European Union – has approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
In a press release on May 15, the Commission announced that it was satisfied with Microsoft’s “commitments to fully address the competition concerns identified [in its investigation] and [that the merger] represents a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is facing global scrutiny due to its potential to create a monopoly within the industry.
This decision comes on the heels of the UK government’s decision to block the merger in late April. In contrast to the UK government’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), the European Commission found that “Microsoft would not be able to harm rival consoles and rival multi-game subscription services… [but] that Microsoft could harm competition in the distribution of games via cloud game streaming services”
In order to allay these concerns, the commission outlined several “remedies” to protect the European cloud gaming industry from a potential Microsoft Monopoly.
