Sarah Cardell

After the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty and Diablo maker Activision Blizzard earlier this year over cloud gaming concerns, Microsoft brought a new deal to the table. In this new deal, Ubisoft would get the rights to Activision Blizzard cloud game streaming in the U.K. for 15 years, theoretically quelling the CMA's concerns. The CMA granted Microsoft a preliminary approval last month and now, a few weeks later, the U.K. regulatory agency has finally given Microsoft the full approval it needs. 

Update: Well, there we go. Microsoft has wasted no time, and has officially concluded the transaction to acquire Activision Blizzard King. The announcement comes via Xbox Wire, where Phil Spencer writes about this historic merger. Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard King, will remain in place for at least the rest of 2023.

The UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has given the go-ahead for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, accepting the tech giant’s modified deal and how it addresses concerns over cloud gaming competition. Microsoft could complete the deal within the next few days.

The last hurdle in ‘s acquisition of has been cleared as the UK regulator approves the deal after a period of consultation on the deal.

The decision in Microsoft's legal case against the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a historic one, but for those who don't have a law degree, it can be hard to understand. The case surrounds the Microsoft Corporation's attempt to purchase the game developing and publishing powerhouse Activision Blizzard, Inc., an enormous conglomerate that counts,, and among its flagship properties. Microsoft first announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard in January 2022, and the FTC's review began shortly thereafter. The legal battle began in earnest by June 2023, when the FTC filed its first documentation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

And just like that, our shared 21-month slog is over. Long live our new, possibly lifelong slog. In a press release today, titled «Microsoft concession a gamechanger that will promote competition,» the UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has announced that it's approving Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, reversing its April decision to block the deal and clearing the way for the deal to close in the very near future.

After many months of legal wrangling, bizarre streaming deals with EE and console fanboys at each other's throats, the CMA has finally approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King in the UK — with the Xbox parent company overcoming the «final regulatory hurdle».

Microsoft’s revised deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has now been cleared by the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has finally given the nod to Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The UK’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, has given its official approval of Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, more than five months after it initially blocked the deal. 

After initially blocking the deal, the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom has approved Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Following provisional approval last month, the authority has given the green light after the company announced the selling of cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard’s titles to Ubisoft.

The UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has given Microsoft its consent to acquire Activision Blizzard following a restructuring of the deal and major concession made by Microsoft.

The UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has given the go-ahead for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, accepting the tech giant’s modified deal and how it addresses concerns over cloud gaming competition. Microsoft could complete the deal within the next few days.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved Microsoft's revised deal to purchase Activision Blizzard.

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Microsoft has received final approval from the UK regulator (the Competition and Markets Authority) on its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This was an anticipated outcome after the provisional approval received three weeks ago, following the restructuring of the deal through the sale of Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft.

It has been a long time coming, but Microsoft’s near-two year attempt to buy gaming giant Activision is finally happening, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted a restructured proposal that addresses the CMA’s concerns about Microsoft dominating the cloud gaming market.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially approved Microsoft‘s proposed acquistion of Activision Blizzard.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

We may be close to the end when it comes to all the regulation that has stopped the Microsoft – Activision deal from finalizing.

British regulators on Friday dropped their objections to Microsoft's attempt to buy video game firm Activision Blizzard, the maker of "Call of Duty", paving the way for the US tech titan to close one of the biggest technology acquisitions ever.

British regulators on Friday dropped their objections to Microsoft's attempt to buy video game firm Activision Blizzard, the maker of "Call of Duty", paving the way for the US tech titan to close one of the biggest technology acquisitions ever.

In January 2022, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion. Since then, Microsoft has had to overcome several hurdles to get the deal approved in various regions. The UK has been one of the biggest obstacles, though it appears some important progress has been made.

UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Last month, Microsoft submitted a new deal to the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority regulatory agency that proposes Ubisoft get the rights to Activision Blizzard game streaming for 15 years. Microsoft did this to get its acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved by the CMA after the regulator previously blocked it over cloud gaming concerns. One month later, the CMA has granted preliminary approval to Microsoft due to its new Ubisoft deal. 

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Key staff at Microsoft and Activision have responded to the news of CMA’s approval of their merger acquisition, amended to include Ubisoft.

In a positive development for Microsoft, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has «provisionally concluded» the company's revised deal to purchase Activision Blizzard will be enough to grant approval.

For good or ill, artificial intelligence is here to stay. That's actually underselling it because the AI industry is booming. Just ask Nvidia. Industries across the world are spending billions looking at ways to integrate AI models into their businesses. But while AI has the potential to boost productivity, accelerate innovation and become a useful tool for end users, global policy has yet to catch up to meet increasing concerns. 

The UK's antitrust watchdog set out a new set of principles for regulating artificial intelligence and kick started a project to deepen its scrutiny of the fast-developing technology.

UK unveils AI principles to prevent dominance by tech giants; AI revolutionises clinical research: shaping the future of healthcare; Church in Texas utilises AI-generated service powered by ChatGPT; Pebble challenges Elon Musk's X with AI-generated content- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

Microsoft’s push to get the UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) on board with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues, with a surprising new potential partner: Ubisoft. Microsoft has submitted a new proposal for the acquisition after the CMA confirmed the original deal would still be blocked.

Microsoft has made a new offer, one that president Brad Smith describes as a «substantially different transaction», in its effort to get its proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over the finish line with the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA had previously blocked the deal on grounds that included concerns about the nascent cloud gaming market, and the restructured deal will see all cloud rights to Activision Blizzard games signed over to Ubisoft for the next 15 years.

Microsoft has submitted a new deal to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority regulatory agency that proposes Ubisoft get the rights to Activision Blizzard game streaming for 15 years. 

In an attempt to appease the UK’s Competition And Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft have restructured their proposed Activision Blizzard buyout. Should the deal finally close, cloud streaming rights to existing and future Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years will (surprisingly) fall under Ubisoft’s control. Those rights will then stay with Ubisoft “in perpetuity.”

Microsoft is attempting to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by restructuring the deal and involving games publisher Ubisoft.

The UK’s antitrust regulator has confirmed its April decision to block the $68.7BN Microsoft-Activision gaming mega-merger — rejecting arguments by Microsoft that it should overturn its original prohibition because of developments since the original decision. However in a simultaneous announcement today the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a new investigation into a restructured proposal Microsoft has submitted for review.

Microsoft has submitted a new Activision Blizzard deal for review after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the original deal is blocked.

Microsoft has today announced that it's restructuring its planned Activision-Blizzard acquisition by selling cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft.

Microsoft has agreed to sell the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft if completes its $68.7bn takeover of the Call of Duty publisher.

At a glance

The Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger is closer than ever to fruition. Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court has denied, in the person of Justice Elena Kagan, the request filed by a group of gamers for an emergency injunction to block the deal. Not that such a request was reasonably likely to be granted, especially after the Federal Trade Commission was turned down.

The process for Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard has been anything but smooth. This deal quickly made headlines when Microsoft made the initial bid. However, the problem Microsoft has been dealing with is regulators. Currently, the biggest hurdle Microsoft has to overcome is the CMA. It looks like the regulator is awaiting Microsoft’s new proposal, but as it stands now, the CMA has not changed its position on this deal.