Microsoft has confirmed that their purchase of Activision Blizzard is now a done deal, with Xbox head Phil Spencer welcoming the company, and its many, many properties, to Xbox.
That means that, as of today, Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty and many many more games are all part of the Microsoft family. That doesn’t mean that any sequels are going to me Xbox-exclusive, though. Microsoft has, for example, signed a ten year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and Switch.
But it does give the company more power going forward, since those franchises are now Microsoft owned. We’d expect to see at least a few Activision Blizzard properties become Xbox console exclusives.
In his statement, Phil Spencer praised Activision Blizzard, remarking that “I’ve long admired the work of Activision, Blizzard, and King, and the impact they’ve had on gaming, entertainment, and pop culture.”
Hang on.. King? Yes, mobile developer and publisher King Digital Entertainment is owned by Activision Blizzard, meaning that Microsoft now owns the makers of Candy Crush. Candy Crush 4K, anyone?
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The last barrier to the deal was the the approval of the CMA, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). America’s own FTC has tried to block the deal on several occasions but has ultimately been unsuccessful.
Previously, the CMA effectively put a block on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activison Blizzard, concerned it would lessen competition in the UK.
In particular, the CMA was concerned that Microsoft would have sole streaming rights to Activision’s current and future titles.
Microsoft’s eventual answer to this was to cede streaming rights to Ubisoft. This was enough for the CMA to approve the purchase and today they’ve confirmed that the deal can go ahead.
“The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” the CMA concludes in its decision.
That said, the CMA has made it clear they’re not happy with how Microsoft handled things, remarking that.. “….businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA.”
The CMA’s statement also accuses Microsoft of dragging out proceedings and that they “..continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work.”
We doubt Phil Spencer bothered by that particular tongue-lashing, however. He and Microsoft have got what they want, Activision Blizzard is, as of today, officially a Microsoft company.
