Microsoft's proposal to buy Activision Blizzard was finally approved by Britain's top competition authority on Friday, clearing the last major hurdle for the $69 billion deal.。

On October 13, local time, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a statement announcing that it had approved Microsoft's new agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard, but not the rights to cloud games.。Activision Blizzard's cloud gaming rights will be acquired by French gaming giant Ubisoft Entertainment SA, CMA says。

Microsoft concessions cloud game copyright UK regulator attitude flip

In January 2022, Microsoft first announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, valued at $69 billion。However, the deal was always up in the air due to concerns from global antitrust regulators.。In May, Microsoft made concessions to the EU, and EU authorities became the first major regulator to approve the deal.。

Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tried to force Microsoft to abandon the takeover plan through a lawsuit, but that claim was dismissed by a judge in July.。According to the CMA, the old agreement allows Microsoft to "set terms and conditions for this market over the next decade," which is likely to harm the competitive environment in the cloud gaming space.。

In this case, Microsoft made concessions in August, submitting a new agreement.。The agreement states that Microsoft will transfer the rights to the cloud game to Ubisoft in order to restructure the deal, an arrangement that is in the hands of the CMA。The CMA released a statement after reviewing: "With the rise of the cloud gaming market, the latest version of the agreement can prevent Microsoft from monopolizing the cloud gaming space."。"

The "cloud gaming" space allows people to stream video games live to devices such as PCs, mobile phones, and TVs, and Ubisoft's acquisition of the rights means it can offer Activision Blizzard content under any business model and provide subscription services for multiple games。Not only that, but cloud gaming can also run on non-Windows operating systems, which greatly reduces costs and improves efficiency。

In addition, the new agreement indicates that Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights to Activision Blizzard's existing PCs and console games, nor will it acquire cloud rights to Activision Blizzard's new games for the next 15 years.。

Currently, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to extend the deal deadline to October 18。

Popular Games Attract Cloud Service Users Microsoft Game Ecology

According to relevant sources, after the completion of the deal, Microsoft will get "Call of Duty (Call of Duty)," "Candy Crush (Candy Crush)" and "Diablo (Diablo)" and other popular game franchises.。

In fact, Microsoft is not the first time to enter the game field。In recent years, Microsoft has been working to improve its gaming ecosystem, creating an interconnected space for Xbox consoles, Windows PCs and Game Pass, a game subscription service.。

At present, Microsoft has incorporated several top games into its ranks, becoming the world's third largest game company after Sony and Nintendo.。In February, Microsoft signed a deal to bring Xbox games into Nvidia's cloud gaming service for 10 years.。In July, it also partnered with rival Sony to bring Call of Duty to the PlayStation console.。

Microsoft executives have said the deal is one way for their company to enter the $93 billion mobile gaming market, and CMA's opposition is a recognition of Microsoft's potential and prospects in the emerging market.。

Sources say that by leveraging Activision Blizzard's games, Microsoft can attract more users to its cloud gaming service, which is consistent with Game Pass's tonality。Analysts pointed out that cloud gaming is still a niche market, Google and Amazon are also difficult to win the first place in the field。

A spokesperson for Activision Blizzard said: "The formal approval of the CMA means a lot to us and Microsoft, and we look forward to being a part of the Xbox team.。"

Microsoft President Brad Smith said: "Thanks to the CMA's final review and decision, we have now overcome all regulatory hurdles and the completion of this acquisition will benefit gamers and the gaming industry around the world."。"

At present, the FTC still opposes the agreement, but it will not affect the agreement.。