Xbox boss Phil Spencer has explained the delay in getting Activision Blizzard's back catalogue added to Xbox Game Pass, and blamed the hold-up on the lengthy and difficult process of sealing the deal.
14.10.2023 - 09:42 / pushsquare.com / Brad Smith / Phil Spencer / Bobby Kotick / Sarah Cardell / Will
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.
While he mostly waxes lyrical about how exciting it is to have ActiBlizz as part of Xbox, Spencer leaves things off to touch on the many platforms on which people play the publisher's games — and seemingly implies a lot of them will stay multiplatform.
«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,» he writes. «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.»
Obviously that's not a confirmation of anything, but it's a comment that suggests to us that, just because Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, it doesn't necessarily mean everything will become exclusive. We already know Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation for at least the next 10 years.
Very interesting times ahead.
Original Story: The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given its approval for Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard to go through.
Microsoft announced its intention to acquire the huge games publisher in January 2022. Over the last year and nine months, the proposal has come under intense scrutiny as government regulators around the world mused on whether it would be harmful to competition in the games industry. Most regulators decided it wouldn't, approving the deal. The CMA, however, has been a particularly tough customer, blocking the deal predominantly with relation to a potential monopoly on cloud gaming.
The USA's Federal Trade Commission has also delayed the acquisition with legal action, though this attempt to stop the deal ultimately failed. Meanwhile, the CMA has held strong in opposing the deal until fairly recently, when Microsoft adjusted its proposal. In the new deal, Microsoft will sell the cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard's games to Ubisoft. After provisionally accepting this change, the CMA has now given its official thumbs up on the merger.
«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,» says the CMA's Sarah Cardell.
Microsoft's CEO, Brad Smith, took to X to deliver a statement on the CMA's decision. «We’re grateful for the
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has explained the delay in getting Activision Blizzard's back catalogue added to Xbox Game Pass, and blamed the hold-up on the lengthy and difficult process of sealing the deal.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed plans to take advantage of Activision Blizzard's past titles.
US tech giant Microsoft has completed its acquisition of games giant Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has completed their vast $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, less than half a day after the UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) gave their approval to a revised package of concessions.
After two years co-piloting the biggest acquisition in video game history past an onslaught of challenges, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer now moves on to his next quest: making Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard worth the hassle. Microsoft, which owns the Xbox gaming system, closed its $69 billion deal to buy game-maker Activision Blizzard on Friday after fending off global opposition from antitrust regulators and rivals.
Xbox maker Microsoft closed its $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,75,620 crore) deal for Activision Blizzard on Friday, swelling its heft in the video-gaming market with best-selling titles including Call of Duty to better compete with industry leader Sony.
It’s been a long time coming, but after the FTC’s failed attempt to stop the acquisition it was just a matter of time, and after Microsoft agreed to license out it’s cloud divion, the British CMA have finally given the green light, mere hours later, Xbox closed the deal and Activision, Blizzard and King are now part of the Xbox family.
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.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finally complete, with the $68.7 billion deal gaining approval from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In a new email to employees, CEO Bobby Kotick has confirmed that he will stay on until the end of 2023 to help with the transition.
Microsoft has beencleared to acquire Activision Blizzard by UK regulators, removing the last hurdle standing in the way of closing the deal.
Microsoft is apparently not spooked by closing the deal on the unlucky day of Friday the 13th.
Following the confirmation earlier today (October 13) that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been closed, it’s been announced that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will be staying in his role until the end of the year, but it's implied that he'll be stepping down in 2024.