The European Commission Approves Microsoft’s Purchase Of Activision Blizzard

As of today, we’re one step closer to seeing the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger happen. While the UK is still against the merger, its neighbors have decided to approve it. The European Commission approved the deal, with some concessions from Microsoft.

According to Gamesindustry.Biz, Microsoft has no reason to withhold games from the PlayStation console, as they’ve determined that there are four PlayStations for every Xbox in the EU. They were however worried about the merger’s effect on cloud gaming services and the fact that Microsoft could somewhat lock up the PC thanks to Windows.

Microsoft agreed to two ten-year concessions that would allow gamers in the “European Economic Area” or EEA to stream all current and future ABK games that they have licenses for (read: they’ve purchased the game) “through the cloud streaming service of their choice”. They’ve also offered a free license to cloud services that will allow them to provide those games to players. They also promise that streamed games will have the same quality as those that players download and install on their devices.

Following the EU announcement, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick issued a statement discussing the impact of the decision and the company’s ties to Europe – including potential future investments. Interestingly, the statement focused heavily on mobile gaming.

“The EC conducted an extremely thorough, deliberate process to gain a comprehensive understanding of gaming. As a result, they approved our merger with Microsoft, although they required stringent remedies to ensure robust competition in our rapidly growing industry. We have deep roots in Europe. Our company was founded in France. Candy Crush—one of our most successful franchises—was created in Sweden. And the senior leadership of our company comes from across the EU, including Austria, Germany, and Sweden. We intend to meaningfully expand our investment and workforce throughout the EU, and we’re excited for the benefits our transaction brings to players in Europe and around the world. The majority of the world’s gamers play on mobile phones. Europe has played a pivotal role in the development of gaming, especially mobile gaming, and we expect European game developers will continue to drive growth and innovation. Our talented teams in Sweden, Spain, Germany, Romania, Poland and many other European countries have the skills, ambition, and government support needed to compete effectively on a global scale. We expect these teams to grow and prosper given their governments’ firm but pragmatic approach to gaming.”