Microsoft’s plan to sell Activision Blizzard’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft appears to have appeased UK antitrust regulators who previously sought to block its $68.7 billion acquisition of the Call of Duty maker.
The preliminary decision Friday from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) comes less than a month before the Oct. 18 extended deadline for Microsoft to complete the acquisition.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which lost its initial attempt to block the deal, is continuing to contest the acquisition before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Microsoft this week cited an “almost unprecedented range” of business and labor groups supporting the company’s position in favor of the acquisition.
The CMA’s decision isn’t final, and the agency says it’s reviewing additional remedies that Microsoft has proposed to address its “limited residual concerns” about enforcing the sale of cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft.
But the agency made it clear that Microsoft has overcome most of its objections.
“In contrast to the original deal, Microsoft will no longer control cloud gaming rights for Activision’s content, so would not be in a position to limit access to Activision’s key content to its own cloud gaming service or to withhold those games from rivals,” the CMA wrote, adding that the new plan “makes important changes that substantially address the concerns it set out in relation to the original transaction earlier this year.”
Brad Smith, Microsoft president and vice chair, said in a statement that the company is “encouraged by this positive development in the CMA’s review process” and “will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18 deadline.”
