Microsoft has scored a big win this week as it gets approval from the European Commission for its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, just like the earlier reports said. While the tech giant still faces an uphill battle, it can now scratch off the EU Commission from its list of roadblocks.
Microsoft's $69 billion deal to purchase video game publisher Activision Blizzard has finally gotten the green light from the EU Commission. This comes after months of investigations and meetings between the parties for and against the deal.
In its ruling, the EU regulators found that Microsoft "would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision's games to Sony", while adding "even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision's games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market." EU regulators believe that it is unlikely that Microsoft would stop offering Activision Blizzard titles like Call of Duty on the PlayStation as it would impact profits.
The EU Commission also said that in the event that Microsoft opts to pull Call of Duty from PlayStation consoles, Sony would still remain competitive in the market. According to regulators, Sony would simply "leverage its size, extensive games catalogue, and market position to fend off any attempt to weaken its competitive position.