Microsoft Closes $68.7 Billion Activision Blizzard Deal After Nearly 21 Month-Long Odyssey

13.10.2023 - 13:35 / wccftech.com / Phil Spencer

Following the final stamp of approval from UK regulator CMA and respecting last week's rumor, Microsoft has just announced the closure of its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, ending an odyssey that lasted nearly 21 months (639 days, to be exact).

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a statement:

Together, we’ll create new worlds and stories, bring your favorite games to more places so more players can join in, and we’ll engage with and delight players in new, innovative ways in the places they love to play including mobile, cloud streaming and more.

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.

For the millions of fans who love Activision, Blizzard, and King games, we want you to know that today is a good day to play. You are the heart and soul of these franchises, and we are honored to have you as part of our community. 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 originally unveiled the groundbreaking deal worth $68.7 billion in cash on January 18th, 2022. At the time, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer immediately said 'as many Activision Blizzard's games as possible' would be added to the Game Pass subscription service upon closure. Recently, Activision Blizzard shared in a public statement that popular premium games like Diablo IV and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III wouldn't land on Game Pass before 2024, and Spencer's statement published today reveals it'll indeed be a few months before the games start coming to the subscription service.

On January 18th, 2022, Spencer also reckoned Activision Blizzard's prized games could 'accelerate' Microsoft's plans for cloud gaming. However, that seems less likely with the restructured deal that's been approved since Microsoft had to sell ABK's cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft.

Let's take a step back to see how it got there. Such a massive deal was bound to incur the scrutiny of regulators; the first roadblock was placed on Microsoft's path by the US Federal Trade Commission, which announced its intention to sue to block the deal in December 2022, alleging potential harm to competition in the console market. However, its in-house administrative process was quite slow, with the first hearing only set for August 2023.

The UK regulator (the Competition and Markets Authority) had also voiced similar concerns. In late March 2023, though, the CMA discarded the theory of harm to the console market, admitting that it wouldn't make