Microsoft recently took a punch from the UK regulator judging its Activision Blizzard acquisition. The regulator ended up going against the deal stating that it can bring harm to the growing cloud gaming segment. Microsoft, of course, will appeal the decision. Now, there are more regulators judging the case like the US and EU. As far as Ukraine is concerned, the deal has been approved. The country’s Anti-Monopoly Commission announced the approval of Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition.
Ukraine approves the Activision Blizzard deal – there are no concerns with cloud gaming
The country went forward with the approval because these companies do not provide cloud gaming services in Ukraine. As a result, the same concerns from the UK are not here. In fact, the allegation of a potential advantage in the cloud gaming space means nothing to the market in Ukraine. Worth noting that the country is the seventh to approve the deal. It follows the decision from Japan, Chile, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and South Africa. With so many countries, it’s hard to believe that the deal will be avoided.
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The UK decision was to block the deal due to competition concerns. But if Microsoft convinces the regulators in its appeal, the deal should proceed. Interestingly, a few weeks before the announcement, some thought that the UK authority was about to approve the deal. The concern with cloud gaming fell as a big surprise to most following the case. The regulators state that Microsoft is in a comfortable position with its cloud gaming branch. The firm has Windows, Xbox Cloud, and Azure. If it acquires Activision Blizzard, it can make games like COD exclusive to its services. That may result in less innovation and less choice.
Microsoft has signed a deal with NVIDIA and Nintendo promising 10 years of Call of Duty. The UK regulator states that this is just a “remedy”. This Friday, MS announced that it has signed a 10-year agreement with Spanish Cloud Gaming platform Nware to provide Xbox PC Games and Activision Blizzard games to more platforms once the acquisition gets the needed approval.
