{"id":594359,"date":"2023-10-13T13:47:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T10:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/gg-microsoft-uk-clears-69b-activision-blizzard-deal\/"},"modified":"2023-10-13T13:47:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T10:47:36","slug":"gg-microsoft-uk-clears-69b-activision-blizzard-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gg-microsoft-uk-clears-69b-activision-blizzard-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"#GG Microsoft! UK clears $69B Activision Blizzard deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a45ba78f3e44\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a45ba78f3e44\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gg-microsoft-uk-clears-69b-activision-blizzard-deal\/#CMA_decidedly_unhappy_with_Microsoft_tactics\" >CMA decidedly unhappy with Microsoft tactics\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gg-microsoft-uk-clears-69b-activision-blizzard-deal\/#Hard_to_remember_a_more_fractious_affair_competition_advisor_says\" >Hard to remember a more fractious affair, competition advisor says<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a lengthy process of regulatory scrutiny, the biggest deal in gaming history finally has the all-clear. Today, the final hold-out in the saga, the UK\u2019s CMA, said it had <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, after the parties had made \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>changing\u201d amendments to the terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The antitrust watchdog stated it had been swayed by Activision\u2019s agreement to sell its streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment. What this effectively means is that its blockbuster video games will not become exclusively available via streaming to Microsoft Xbox gamers following the takeover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f4d6d055-fb78-468a-9764-31f37dd19c58\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"https:\/\/data.thenextweb.com\/tnw\/entity\/cloud_gaming\">cloud gaming<\/span> as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,\u201d the CMA said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/amo\/media\/games\/cloud-gaming\/worldwide#revenue\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statista<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, revenue in the cloud gaming market is projected to reach $4.34bn (\u20ac4.1bn) in 2023. It could then show an annual growth rate of 44.09%, which would result in a market volume of $18.71bn (\u20ac17.7bn) by 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the approval, Microsoft now has the opportunity to close the $69bn (\u20ac65.4bn) deal by October 18, three months after the original deadline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The &lt;3 of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"CMA_decidedly_unhappy_with_Microsoft_tactics\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>CMA decidedly unhappy with Microsoft tactics<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Activision Blizzard makes household franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. Microsoft first announced its intention to purchase the Fortune 500 video game publisher in early 2022. When the CMA blocked the deal in April this year, Microsoft said the UK was \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">closed for business<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d and that it was the \u201cdarkest day\u201d in its 40 years operating in the country. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EU granted its approval in May 2023, while US regulators followed suit in July. Meanwhile, the lengthy back and forth with the UK watchdog has been one of the most publicised and contentious antitrust processes in Britain to date. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the agency had delivered a clear message to Microsoft that the deal would be blocked unless they comprehensively addressed concerns and \u201cwe stuck to our guns on that.\u201d She further added that the CMA\u2019s decision had been \u201cfree from political influence\u201d and that the agency would not be \u201cswayed by corporate lobbying.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBusinesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA,\u201d Cardell stated, in what could be considered a less than entirely amicable tone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hard_to_remember_a_more_fractious_affair_competition_advisor_says\"><\/span>Hard to remember a more fractious affair, competition advisor says<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, the CMA\u2019s statements appear to lay down a marker that publicly litigating appeals against the agency in the press will be \u201cseen in an exceedingly poor light in the future.\u201d That is according to Gareth Mills, who is a partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys and advises on commercial dispute resolution, regulatory, and competition matters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn a UK context, it\u2019s hard to remember a more fractious affair and the comments made by the CMA\u2019s chief executive as part of the approval makes it clear that some of Microsoft\u2019s tactics have left a bitter taste, despite the final collaborative resolution,\u201d Mills told TNW.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUltimately, this approval allows both sides to claim a satisfactory result. Microsoft have the deal finalised and the CMA can justifiably point to the remedies offered by Microsoft to facilitate the deal\u2019s approval as evidence that its original rejection was a correct use of its powers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For its part, Microsoft was somewhat more conciliatory in its comments on the approval than the CMA. Brad Smith, the tech giant\u2019s <span>vice chair and president, said: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for the CMA\u2019s thorough review and decision today. We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide.\u201d<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/gg-microsoft-uk-clears-activision-blizzard-deal-gaming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a lengthy process of regulatory scrutiny, the biggest deal in gaming history finally has the all-clear. Today, the final hold-out in the saga, the UK\u2019s CMA, said it had approved Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, after the parties had made \u201cgamechanging\u201d amendments to the terms.\u00a0 The antitrust watchdog stated it had been swayed by&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":594360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2023\/07\/Untitled-design-5-8.jpg&signature=1982e37edbac19f6fed97e051395544f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-594359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}