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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved Microsoft’s restructured acquisition of Activision Blizzard on 13 October 2023—but not the original transaction. Approval depended on removing Activision’s relevant non-European Economic Area (EEA) cloud-streaming rights from Microsoft’s purchase and transferring them to Ubisoft, with enforceable undertakings covering implementation.
Why did the UK first block Microsoft’s Activision deal?
Microsoft agreed in January 2022 to acquire the whole of Activision Blizzard. The CMA reported the announced value as $68.7 billion, the figure rounded to “$69 billion” in many headlines.
On 26 April 2023, the CMA blocked that original proposal. Its concern was competition in the developing cloud-gaming market: owning major Activision games could give Microsoft both the ability and incentive to withhold those games from rival cloud services or make access less attractive. The authority said prohibition was an effective and proportionate remedy for that risk.
This was a case about control of game distribution and bargaining power in cloud gaming, not a general finding that the acquisition would harm console competition.
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What changed before the October 2023 approval?
- January 2022: Microsoft entered the agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard for a reported $68.7 billion.
- 26 April 2023: The CMA blocked the original whole-company transaction over cloud-gaming concerns.
- August 2023: Microsoft proposed a restructured acquisition excluding the relevant non-EEA cloud-streaming rights and transferring them to Ubisoft. The CMA opened a fresh Phase 1 review.
- 22 September 2023: The CMA said the revised structure substantially addressed its earlier concerns, while identifying limited residual risks involving possible circumvention, termination or non-enforcement of the Ubisoft arrangement.
- 13 October 2023: The CMA accepted undertakings in lieu of a Phase 2 reference and consented to the acquisition, excluding those non-EEA cloud-streaming rights.
Original deal versus approved structure
| Issue | Original proposal | Restructured deal approved in October 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Who would control the relevant cloud rights? | Microsoft would acquire Activision Blizzard and its cloud-streaming rights. | The relevant non-EEA rights were transferred to Ubisoft before Microsoft’s acquisition completed. |
| Geographic scope | No Ubisoft carve-out was included. | Non-EEA cloud-streaming rights went to Ubisoft. Ubisoft also received an EEA non-exclusive licence; the arrangement was not a transfer of every Activision right in every territory. |
| Duration and content | Not applicable to a Ubisoft rights package. | Ubisoft’s package covered current and future Activision PC and console games released during the next 15 years outside the EEA. |
| Access and business models | Rival cloud services could have faced Microsoft-controlled access to Activision content. | Ubisoft could sublicense the rights worldwide without limitation and use any business model, including multigame subscriptions. |
| Safeguards | The CMA considered prohibition necessary. | Microsoft’s undertakings made the Ubisoft rights sale enforceable by the CMA and addressed the authority’s implementation concerns. |
What exactly did Ubisoft receive?
The CMA’s detailed decision describes a 15-year package covering all current and future Activision PC and console games released outside the EEA. Ubisoft can sublicense those rights worldwide without limitation and choose the commercial model used to distribute them.
The structure also included an EEA non-exclusive licence for Ubisoft. Separately, Microsoft retained a non-exclusive licence only to the extent needed for its commitments to the European Commission and certain existing third-party cloud-streaming agreements. Those limited licences are why it is inaccurate to describe the arrangement as Microsoft losing every cloud right in every territory.
The CMA expected the arrangement to let Ubisoft make Activision content available to cloud providers, including through multigame subscriptions, and to help providers use non-Windows operating systems for that content. These were the authority’s anticipated competitive effects, not proof that a particular provider had already launched a service or added a specific game.
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Does Microsoft still own Call of Duty’s cloud-gaming rights?
There is no simple all-territories yes-or-no answer. Call of Duty is an example of Activision content affected by the arrangement. For the relevant non-EEA cloud-streaming rights, Ubisoft became the independent rights holder able to sublicense access. Microsoft nevertheless retained limited non-exclusive licences tied to European Commission commitments and certain existing third-party agreements, while Ubisoft’s EEA licence was non-exclusive.
So the CMA’s remedy was designed to prevent Microsoft from controlling the relevant cloud distribution on its own, not to erase every Microsoft licence connected with Activision games.
Why did the CMA consider the concession sufficient?
The authority’s theory was that putting cloud distribution in the hands of an independent supplier would reduce Microsoft’s ability to foreclose rival services. The CMA accepted undertakings making the Ubisoft transfer enforceable and providing a safeguard if implementation went wrong.
“We now have a new transaction in which the cloud distribution of Activision games, old and new, is taken away from Microsoft and put into the hands of Ubisoft, an independent party who is committed to widening access to the games.”
— Martin Coleman, Chair of the Independent Panel that reviewed the original Microsoft deal.
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“That’s better for competition, better for consumers and better for economic growth.”
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— Martin Coleman.
“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.”
— Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA.
On 22 September, CMA Senior Director of Mergers Colin Raftery called the proposal “a new and substantially different deal” because cloud distribution would remain with Ubisoft rather than Microsoft.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How large was the cloud-gaming market according to the CMA?
The CMA’s April 2023 release supplied context for why cloud distribution mattered:
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- UK monthly active cloud-gaming users more than tripled between the start of 2021 and the end of 2022, according to the CMA.
- The CMA estimated Microsoft’s share of global cloud-gaming services at 60–70% in that April 2023 assessment. This was a dated estimate, not a current market-share claim.
- The CMA cited forecasts that cloud gaming could be worth up to £11 billion globally and £1 billion in the UK by 2026. Those were forecasts made in 2023, not observed 2026 results.
What the $69 billion headline does—and does not—mean
The headline figure refers to the CMA’s reported value for Microsoft’s January 2022 agreement: $68.7 billion, rounded to $69 billion. It is not the value of the October 2023 remedy, a payment to Ubisoft, or a new price set by the CMA.
The October decision approved a materially changed transaction. Microsoft could complete the Activision acquisition only with the specified cloud-rights exclusion and Ubisoft transfer in place.
Quick Recap
What consumers and investors should take from the decision
- Approval was conditional in substance: the CMA did not reverse its original cloud-competition theory; it accepted a different structure that changed who controlled distribution.
- Access was the remedy’s focus: Ubisoft’s broad sublicensing ability was intended to give cloud providers more ways to offer Activision games, including in subscription bundles.
- Territory matters: the central transfer concerned non-EEA rights, with separate non-exclusive EEA and Microsoft licences.
- Implementation mattered: CMA-enforceable undertakings were part of the clearance, not an optional promise outside the decision.
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