Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion on January 18, 2022. Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King would be owned by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft Gaming business, which would be a sister company to Xbox Game Studios.
Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush are just a few of the major franchises that would fall under Microsoft’s control following the acquisition. It would become the largest video game acquisition in history by transaction value if allowed by the regulators.
The proposed merger between Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc. was also the subject of an administrative complaint that has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission. According to the agency, the agreement would give Microsoft the power to stifle competition for its Xbox gaming consoles as well as its quickly expanding subscription and cloud gaming businesses.
BREAKING: A judge has denied the FTC’s request for an injunction on Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. https://t.co/QEN2aKgCLB pic.twitter.com/eCVATYxqwA
— IGN (@IGN) July 11, 2023
A federal judge recently rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction. This ended the long battle between Microsoft’s and the US regulator.
Sony has actively come forward to opposed this merger. They argue that the new organization would prevent titles like Call of Duty from coming to the PlayStation. They fell titles like these will become Xbox family exclusives.
Microsoft to complete Activision acquisition by next week
This came as good news for the American tech giant. According to reports, Microsoft will complete its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard next week. Activision is the maker of games like Call of Duty and this deal will end Microsoft’s protracted pursuit of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft’s long-running pursuit of purchasing Activision Blizzard will reportedly be completed next week. https://t.co/SABu4OcQkj pic.twitter.com/KbqcdgKapF
— IGN (@IGN) October 6, 2023
According to The Verge, Microsoft will finalize the agreement on Friday, October 13, subject to UK’s final approval. If true it would occur just five days before the deadline of October 18 set by Microsoft and Activision.
Last month, a revised agreement that includes the sale of Activision Blizzard’s cloud gaming division to Assassin’s Creed creator Ubisoft was presented. After this the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) temporarily authorized Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The Ubisoft+ lineup is expanding!
We’re excited to announce a new agreement that will bring Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft+ via streaming upon the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard!
We’ll also be licensing the games to a range of cloud streaming… pic.twitter.com/sZTnEFJedC
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) August 22, 2023
The CMA’s final approval is anticipated to come next week, which will allow Microsoft to complete the merger right away.
Microsoft has already won a legal victory over the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It also received approval from an important regulatory body in the European Commission. Furthermore, it negotiated a deal with console rival Sony to provide Activision titles on PlayStation for a decade.
