Microsoft closes US$69 billion Activision deal after winning Britain’s nod of approval
- The biggest deal in the gaming industry finally won approval from Britain after Microsoft agreed to sell streaming rights to allay competition concerns
- Activision makes popular mobile titles including Candy Crush Saga and Call of Duty Mobile, excluded from a deal with France to secure approval from UK
Xbox maker Microsoft closed its US$69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard on Friday, swelling its heft in the video-gaming market with bestselling titles including Call of Duty to better compete with industry leader Sony.
Originally unveiled in January 2022, the biggest deal in the gaming industry cleared its final big hurdle – an approval from Britain – earlier in the day after Microsoft agreed to sell streaming rights for Activision’s games to allay competition concerns.
The completion is a major win for the US tech firm in its push to attract more people to its Xbox consoles and Game Pass subscription service. Microsoft’s gaming revenue trails that of Sony, whose PlayStation consoles outsell the Xbox.
“Today is a good day to play,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a post on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. He will oversee the Activision business, with the video-game publisher’s CEO Bobby Kotick staying on until end-2023.
Spencer has touted the purchase as a way for Microsoft to break into the more than US$90-billion market for mobile games.
Activision makes popular mobile titles including Candy Crush Saga and Call of Duty Mobile – games that were excluded from the cloud streaming deal Microsoft signed with France’s Ubisoft Entertainment to secure approval from Britain.
