Microsoft completes acquisition deal of Activision Blizzard
Microsoft has officially completed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion after almost two years since the deal was announced. In early 2022, the tech giant initially announced its intention to make the most expensive deal in the history of the gaming industry by acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Microsoft has closed the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard for a massive sum of $69 billion. This has become the most expensive deal in the history of the gaming industry. The deal was announced in early 2022 and was completed on October 13. The negotiations and deal took place under close scrutiny from regulatory bodies, as the deal raised concerns about competition in the market. As a result of the deal review, Microsoft agreed to sell the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft Entertainment. This will ensure competition in the cloud gaming market. The deal faced delays due to regulatory approvals, and its completion date was extended to October 18.
The completion of the deal was announced on Friday, October 13, immediately after the approval of the acquisition of the gaming studio by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) following changes to the deal conditions.
Under the revised deal, Microsoft agreed to transfer the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games, including Call of Duty, to the French company Ubisoft Entertainment. Under this new deal, the independent competitor will have the rights to stream all Activision Blizzard content for PC and consoles outside of the Eurozone for the next 15 years, as reported by the CMA. The regulator noted that such an agreement ensures that Microsoft’s deal will not pose a threat to competition in the cloud gaming market.
The deal has raised concerns among regulatory bodies, who viewed it as a threat to competition in the gaming market. Due to delays in obtaining approvals from US and UK regulatory bodies, the parties were unable to complete the deal by the initial deadline of July 18, 2023. In July, the agreement’s deadline was extended to October 18 of the current year.
