The acquisition of Microsoft Activision Blizzard, which has taken the gaming world by storm lately, continues to be on the agenda. While the company recently received approval from the European Union, the UK Competition and Trade Commission did not approve the purchase. But now, a new decision has come that could strengthen Microsoft’s hand. Let’s take a look at the details of the news together.
Microsoft received approval from China for Activision Blizzard acquisition!
In order for Microsoft to complete the huge $69 billion deal, it needs to get approval from the regulatory authorities of many countries. The company, which received approval from the European Union commission in the past days, finally got good news from the Chinese Market Regulatory Commission.
As reported by Seeking Alpha, China’s Market Regulatory Commission granted unconditional approval for the deal after a detailed review. The UK seems to be the only obstacle for Microsoft, as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Japan, Serbia, South Africa and Ukraine have already ratified the agreement.
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Considering that the US commission has not yet made its final decision, there are two commissions that Microsoft needs to convince clearly. The UK Competition and Trade Commission has previously requested Microsoft to buy only a certain share of Activision Blizzard. U.S. regulators continue to scrutinize it.
Why does this deal require so much approval?
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, which stands out as one of the biggest deals in the gaming world, is considered quite dangerous according to many game companies in the industry. Sony, which we can describe as the biggest opponent of the agreement, plays an active role in the litigation process of the agreement, as it considers it to be anti-competitive.
Since Call of Duty and other Activision – Blizzard games occupy a very large place in the game industry, companies do not want these games to be monopolized by Microsoft. For this reason, after the lawsuits filed one after the other, the agreement is examined by the competition institutions.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is ready to make many concessions to address these concerns of companies. As an example, the company offered a deal with Sony to have Call of Duty on PlayStation for at least 10 more years. After making this agreement with NVIDIA, it was announced that many Microsoft games will be added to GeForce Now.
As a result, if this deal is completed, Microsoft has previously announced that Call of Duty games will be added to Xbox Game Pass. The purchasing process, which has been going on for about 1.5 years, is about to reach its final stages. Although there is no clear purchase date, it is anticipated that the process will be completed in a few months if the decisions are approved.
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