Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been approved by EU regulators just weeks after UK regulators blocked the acquisition. The European Commission has concluded that the deal can pass thanks to commitments from Microsoft related to cloud gaming.
The EU found that Microsoft “would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision’s games to Sony” and that “even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision’s games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market.” But EU regulators, much like the UK, did find the acquisition could harm competition around the distribution of PC and console games through cloud gaming services.
The European Commission has identified...