“EU approves Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of game developer Activision Blizzard”

The representatives of the European Commission have given the green light to the transaction by which Microsoft wants to take over the game developer Activision Blizzard, for 69 billion dollars. It is a “mouth of oxygen” for Microsoft, after the UK and US authorities did NOT give their consent. The EU set a number of conditions before giving the green light.

The transaction was announced in January 2022 and is one of the largest in the history of technology. But there were a lot of objections about the effect the takeover would have on competition.

The EU agreed after Microsoft promised not to block other companies’ access to games developed by Activision, famous for titles such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo.

The commission says the proposed transaction should not have adverse effects on the gaming console market, as Microsoft would have no reason to remove Activision’s most popular games from the consoles of rivals such as Sony, as it would lose revenue. Sony has a much higher share of game consoles than Microsoft in Europe.

The British competition authority announced in April that it was blocking the proposed transaction by which Microsoft wants to take over Activision Blizzard. The deal has raised concerns across the board and shows that governments are increasingly opposed to big tech deals.

The cloud gaming industry is estimated at $175 billion.

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