FILE – An image from Activision’s Call of Duty is shown on a smartphone near a photograph of the Microsoft logo in this photo taken in New York, June 15, 2023. Microsoft’s purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard won final approval Friday, Oct. 13, from Britain’s competition watchdog, reversing its earlier decision to block the $69 billion deal and removing a last obstacle for one of the largest tech transactions in history.
It still faces opposition from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has argued that Microsoft could use the consolidation of a major game publisher to create “walled gardens” around its Xbox Game Pass subscription service and the emerging business of streaming games on demand. But after losing a court fight to pause the merger, FTC antitrust enforcers must now undertake a difficult battle to try to unwind it.
He shared a video celebrating the merger, featuring scenes from games to the tune of “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’” from the Broadway musical “Oklahoma!”gave preliminary approval after agreeing to allow users and cloud gaming platforms to stream its titles without paying royalties for 10 years.. Sony also feared it would limit PlayStation gamers’ access to Call of Duty, Activision’s long-running military shooter series. to pause the deal so that its in-house judge could review it. The FTC hasn’t given up, appealing the decision and last month filing notice of its plan to resume that trial.