By Sagar V. Mankar 
After nearly two years of grappling, Microsoft has finally succeeded in its ambitious attempt to acquire the gaming behemoth Activision.
This means famous titles produced by Activision Blizzard including – Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s, Spyro, Skylanders, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, will be soon canon of Xbox.
This much-anticipated purchase has finally gained approval from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), following a series of strict conditions and significant concessions by Microsoft.
Timeline of the Activision Blizzard Deal
January 2022
- January 18, 2022:
Microsoft announces its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, marking one of the largest acquisitions in gaming and tech history.
February–June 2022
- Regulatory Scrutiny Begins:
Various antitrust regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the European Commission (EC), and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), announce their investigations into the deal. - Employee Issues Highlighted:
Reports of workplace harassment and toxic culture at Activision Blizzard surface, leading to further scrutiny over Microsoft’s commitment to improving working conditions.
July–December 2022
- July 2022:
- U.S. FTC files an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition.
- Concerns: The deal could stifle competition, particularly in the cloud gaming and console markets.
- October 2022:
- Microsoft begins offering commitments to regulators, such as maintaining popular Activision titles on rival platforms like Sony’s PlayStation.
- December 2022:
- The FTC formally sues to block the deal, citing potential monopolistic behavior.
January–June 2023
- January 2023:
- Microsoft argues in court filings that the acquisition would benefit gamers and competition.
- February 2023:
- EU regulators extend their investigation, while Microsoft offers binding commitments to address concerns.
- March 2023:
- Microsoft signs a 10-year agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to its platforms, countering monopoly concerns.
- May 2023:
- The European Commission approves the deal after Microsoft offers remedies to ensure fair competition in the cloud gaming space.
July 2023
- FTC Case Dismissed:
A U.S. judge denies the FTC’s motion to block the deal, citing insufficient evidence that the acquisition would harm competition. - CMA Blocks the Deal:
The UK’s CMA blocks the deal, citing concerns about Microsoft’s dominance in cloud gaming.
August–October 2023
- August 2023:
Microsoft submits a revised proposal to the CMA, including the divestiture of Activision’s cloud gaming rights in the UK to Ubisoft. - September 2023:
The CMA provisionally approves the restructured deal. - October 13, 2023:
The CMA formally approves the revised deal.
October 2023
- October 18, 2023:
The acquisition is finalized. Microsoft officially owns Activision Blizzard, completing the $68.7 billion deal.
The Concession that Sealed the Deal
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard had raised concerns about its potential monopoly over the cloud gaming market. UK’s CMA doesn’t want the whole cloud gaming market under one corporation, so they instructed Microsoft to allow the other cloud service providers to access a library of Activision Blizzard.
To satisfy these concerns, the French video game publisher Ubisoft emerged as a crucial player in this narrative. Ubisoft will be granted Activision’s cloud-streaming rights for PC and console games in regions beyond the European Economic Area (EEA) for the next 15 years, Microsoft secures its access to the same rights within the EEA. Ubisoft’s extensive experience in the streaming arena, showcased by its successful collaborations with major players like Google, Amazon, and NVIDIA, evidently played a crucial role in Microsoft’s decision-making process.
Except for specific EU countries and pre-existing cloud gaming deals done by Microsoft, Ubisoft has been entrusted with the major responsibility of determining the platforms on which these games will be available. Outside the EEA, the ball is in Ubisoft’s court, granting them the power to decide which cloud gaming services will be granted the rights to host Activision Blizzard’s gaming catalog including Call of Duty. Even Microsoft will be required to compensate Ubisoft through a wholesale arrangement fee to obtain licenses for its cloud-based gaming services.
The CMA’s Stance on its Intervention
U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) chief executive, Sarah Cardell, underlined the significance of this intervention, highlighting how it prevents Microsoft from gaining an unfair stronghold in the cloud gaming industry.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Cardell stated that this move not only ensures “competitive pricing” but also “fosters an environment of enhanced services and greater consumer choice.”
“The aim of CMA is to stop the monopoly of one business or industry on the market so that other player gets an equal opportunity that leads to fair prices and more innovative solutions available for customers.”
In conclusion, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has set the new stage for a cloud gaming industry, with Ubisoft emerging as a key player in the distribution and streaming of Activision Blizzard’s major gaming titles.