Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard General Gaming

[Tom]

Well done on the UK, once again, making everything more difficult for everyone, with no real benefit to anyone.

It's only a hindrance if you want to play the games on the cloud, which I believe most people won't. The games will still be on Game Pass.

Ubisoft in the future might license the games to Microsoft for cloud gaming.

This will get the deal over the line.

 

[Tom]

Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been officially approved by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

This development follows the body's announcement last month that it'd provisionally agreed to allow the deal, following a consultation period designed to help address remaining concerns that certain aspects of the version currently on the table could potentially be "circumvented, terminated, or not enforced." The CMA blocked the original iteration of the deal submitted by Microsoft back in April, citing apprehension over how it could affect competition in the cloud gaming space.

In response, Microsoft then tabled a revised version of it, having agreed to sell some cloud gaming rights for Activision titles to Ubisoft. The CMA has now cleared this new deal.

"The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers." the body said in a statement about the development.

"We delivered a clear message to Microsoft that the deal would be blocked unless they comprehensively addressed our concerns and stuck to our guns on that." CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said in the press release.

"With the sale of Activision's cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we've made sure Microsoft can't have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market. As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice," she continued.

Cardell also criticised Microsoft's approach to dealing with the regulator, saying: "Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation, but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn't work. Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money."

Good to see this saga finally come to an end and I know there are some people who are against consolidation etc but I do think this deal is good for gamers and will bring more competition.

This is the Xbox first-party studios organisation now

 

[Recycling Bin]

Statement from Phil Spencer. Interesting part below.

Players have always been at the center of everything we do. And as we grow, we'll continue to keep players at the heart of it all. We'll continue to listen to your feedback, build a community where you can be yourself, where developers can do their best work, and continue to make really fun games. As promised, we will also continue to make more games available in more places – and that begins now by enabling cloud streaming providers and players to stream Activision Blizzard games in the European Economic Area, a commitment made to the European Commission. Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We'll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you're excited – and we are too.

Welcoming the Legendary Teams at Activision Blizzard King to Team Xbox - Xbox Wire

Today we welcome the teams at Activision Blizzard King to Team Xbox. It's a good day to play.

news.xbox.com

 

[David76]

Statement from Phil Spencer. Interesting part below.

Players have always been at the center of everything we do. And as we grow, we'll continue to keep players at the heart of it all. We'll continue to listen to your feedback, build a community where you can be yourself, where developers can do their best work, and continue to make really fun games. As promised, we will also continue to make more games available in more places – and that begins now by enabling cloud streaming providers and players to stream Activision Blizzard games in the European Economic Area, a commitment made to the European Commission. Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We'll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you're excited – and we are too.

Welcoming the Legendary Teams at Activision Blizzard King to Team Xbox - Xbox Wire

Today we welcome the teams at Activision Blizzard King to Team Xbox. It's a good day to play.

news.xbox.com

Simultaneously, one of the best and one of the worst things about this deal.