Microsoft completes purchase of Activision after approval from the British regulator

Microsoft announced this Friday that it has completed its acquisition of the video game giant Activision Blizzardafter receiving final approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which was blocking the deal, to its revised US$75 billion offer.

“Today is a good day to play. We have completed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and welcome you to Activision Blizzard and its businesses to Microsoft Gaming”The CEO of Microsoft’s video game division, Phil Spencer, said in an email sent to all company employees.

It is the largest acquisition in the history of the company, according to the specialized press. It took almost two years to finalize due to blocking by US and British regulators, who were wary of the effects the deal could have on the industry.

The CMA, which was the only regulator left to approve the acquisition (Microsoft won a lawsuit against the US Federal Trade Commission in June), had blocked the original offer presented last April worth almost US$69,000. million due to its possible impact on competition.

Under the revised agreement, approved today in the United Kingdom, Microsoft will transfer the rights to distribute Activision games via the cloud to French video game publisher Ubisoft.

Microsoft, however, will continue to control games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, which represent significant revenue for the company.

The CMA specified that the revised agreement “would preserve competitive prices” in the video game industry and would provide more options and better services.

Microsoft bets on cloud gaming

In an entry on the company’s blog, Spencer seemed to clear up doubts about whether users of other platforms, such as Sony’s PlayStation or Nintendo’s Switch, will lose access to Activision titles such as Overwatch or Call of Duty.

“Whether you play on Xbox, on PlayStation“, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome, and you will continue to be, even if it is not on Xbox where you play your favorite franchises”wrote the executive.

And Microsoft’s plan seems more focused on promoting its cloud gaming service, Game Pass, which allows users to access a library of content in exchange for a subscription, and is not tied to a specific platform, but which is also available on computers and mobile phones.

“We are starting to work on bringing the popular library of games from Activision, Blizzard and King (the developer of mobile games like Candy Crush) to Game Pass and other platforms, and we will have more news in the coming months”Spencer wrote in his email to employees.

Despite the size of the acquisition, video games remain a relatively small part of Microsoft’s revenue. During the last fiscal year they accounted for around 7% of the company’s total income.