In a significant turn of events, Microsoft's bid to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has been the major player, voicing concerns and taking center stage in this gaming drama. Their main worry? The potentially monopolistic influence this deal could exert on the budding cloud gaming market.
However, Microsoft made a surprising power move, signaling they're not here to play monopoly. In an attempt to allay CMA's apprehensions, they've agreed to carve out cloud gaming rights of all Activision Blizzard titles, handing them to Ubisoft. This is like Microsoft buying a Michelin star restaurant and then agreeing they'll bid to cook in its kitchen just like every other chef in town. Unexpected, right? The CMA seems to think so too, stating: The prior sale of the cloud gaming rights will establish Ubisoft as a key supplier of content to cloud gaming services, replicating the role that Activision would have played in the market as an independent player. https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1705107310073512252
The official green light from the CMA isn't stamped yet, but the vibe is pretty positive. If everything aligns as expected, we could see the deal get its official blessing before the October 18 deadline previously set by Activision Blizzard and Microsoft.