Last Month, we reported on the news that the CMA had blocked Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It was a concern for many, myself included, that other authorities and regulators around the world would follow the somewhat misguided views of the UK’s CMA. Thankfully, if today’s news is anything to go by, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
European Commission Weighs In
Today, May 15th, the European Commission shared a statement approving the proposed deal from Microsoft. Contrary to CMA’s Beliefs, the European Commission sees the commitments made by Microsoft as a marked improvement in the state of cloud gaming today.
This echoes our sentiment here at Cloud Dosage that the acquisition will only benefit cloud gaming services and cloud gamers alike – and that the CMA’s decision could end up hurting cloud gaming more than helping.
The Full Picture
The complete statement from the European Commission is available for all to read here. But here are some quick takeaways.
- Following the investigation, the European Commission found that Microsoft has no incentive to withdraw Activision Blizzard titles from other platforms such as PlayStation. And even if they were to do so, it would not significantly harm competition.
- They also found that Activision, as it stands, has no plans to distribute its current titles among cloud gaming services as it would cannibalize game sales and harm business.
- Microsoft’s proposed offer of a free license for Consumers (allowing them to stream purchased Activision titles on cloud platforms of their choice) is an adequate measure to address competition concerns.
We will continue to cover the Activision Blizzard acquisition as news breaks, so make sure you follow us on socials and us to your bookmarks!
