Can Microsoft take over Activision Blizzard as planned? The deal remains a stalemate because authorities around the world have to agree – and in Europe it’s taking longer than originally planned.
For Microsoft, the wait continues to see if it can acquire Activision Blizzard for insane money and incorporate it into Xbox Studios. That’s because antitrust authorities around the world need to approve the scope of the deal. In Europe, too, the decision is still pending. Although there have recently been increasing signs that the EU Commission might ultimately be inclined to approve the deal, Microsoft will still have to wait for a decision.
A decision by the authorities was actually expected for April 25th – in about a month. According to a report by Reuters, nothing will come of this, because the antitrust law experts are now taking more time to do this, after the deadline had already been extended once before. Accordingly, a decision regarding the European market will only be made by May 22, 2023.
The Commission wants to use the additional time to evaluate further feedback from Microsoft’s rivals and end customers. At the same time, this gives Microsoft more time to offer the games and titles from Activision Blizzard to other providers in the long term and to make the EU Commission’s deal more palatable because there are fewer concerns about restricting competition. Most recently, Microsoft had already made 10-year commitments to Nintendo and NVIDIA and, above all, also guaranteed Call of Duty for this period on their platforms. Corresponding cooperations with smaller providers such as Boosteroid and Ubitus followed.
Sony is said to have been offered a similar 10-year deal, but they have so far refused to sign one. It remains to be seen how the planned $ 68.7 billion deal will continue.
This short video recaps the main announcements from last night’s Developer_Direct for you.
