Activision Blizzard is now officially a part of Microsoft‘s Xbox wing as the companies closed their merger this morning. Following years of regulatory scrutiny followed by a series of approvals, Microsoft cleared the last few hurdles in recent months.
Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was finally approved in the UK this morning
U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority announced this morning that it has fully approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard after the former offered remedies that satisfied its concerns. One of those remedies included Microsoft handing over cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard’s games to Ubisoft for 10 years.
The merger is still facing resistance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission but is able to close because a judge denied the FTC’s request to halt the deal pending the outcome of its investigation. The FTC could technically ask Microsoft to divest later on but the regulator has yet to make a strong case against the acquisition.
“Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here – and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favorite franchise,” Microsoft wrote. “Because when everyone plays, we all win. We believe our news today will unlock a world of possibilities for more ways to play.”
