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The European Commission approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard on May 15, 2023, but made that approval conditional on binding cloud-gaming commitments. It did not clear the deal worldwide or let Microsoft close immediately: the United Kingdom had blocked the original transaction, and a separate U.S. challenge was ongoing. Microsoft completed the acquisition on October 13, 2023, after restructuring the transaction to address the UK regulator’s objections.
What the EU approved—and what the $69 billion figure means
The European Commission approved Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard under the EU Merger Regulation. The formal case was M.10646 — Microsoft / Activision Blizzard, and the decision was adopted on May 15, 2023. The approval depended on Microsoft complying fully with legally binding commitments focused on cloud-game streaming. The Commission’s decision and announcement set out the conditions.
Microsoft announced the proposed transaction on January 18, 2022, at an approximate value of $68.7 billion, commonly rounded to $69 billion. That was the announced deal value, not a description of Microsoft’s later accounting. Microsoft’s acquisition history records the announcement; its FY2025 annual report later listed a $75.4 billion total purchase price, primarily cash, as an accounting figure. Those figures refer to different measures and stages.
Activision Blizzard’s portfolio included Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Candy Crush. Microsoft’s stated strategic rationale included expanding its games business across console, PC, cloud and mobile; that rationale was not itself a finding of the Commission.
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Why the Commission examined the acquisition
The Commission considered whether Microsoft could use Activision Blizzard’s games to weaken rivals in related markets. Its central concern in the final decision was cloud-game streaming: after acquiring the publisher, Microsoft might reserve games for Xbox Cloud Gaming or make them harder for rival services to offer. The investigation also considered access for competing distributors and subscription services, console-game distribution and effects on PC operating systems and other distribution markets. The case decision details the Commission’s market analysis.
What Microsoft had to provide under the EU remedy
The commitments applied in the European Economic Area (EEA), a regional framework that includes the EU and other participating countries. They were not a general remedy for every country in Europe, and the UK’s separate status meant it required its own regulatory decision.
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- Consumer license: Consumers in the EEA could receive a free license to stream eligible current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games through a cloud-streaming service of their choice, provided they had the relevant game license.
- Provider license: Cloud-game-streaming services could receive a free license enabling EEA-based players to stream eligible Activision Blizzard games.
- Duration: The commitments run for 10 years from the transaction’s closing.
- Access without individual negotiations: The design was intended to let competing services offer eligible games without negotiating separately with Microsoft.
The Commission accepted these commitments as a way to prevent Microsoft from reserving the games exclusively for Xbox Cloud Gaming in the EEA and to give consumers and rival services access. It also viewed the arrangement as improving cloud-gaming access compared with the pre-merger position, when Activision Blizzard generally did not license its games to cloud-streaming services. The Commission described the commitments as a significant improvement for cloud gaming.
Why EU and UK regulators reached different outcomes
The European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) examined related competitive risks but assessed different remedies under separate regulatory processes. The Commission accepted licensing commitments for the EEA. The CMA blocked the original transaction on April 26, 2023, finding Microsoft’s initial proposal insufficient to address its cloud-gaming concerns. The CMA’s case record describes its decision.
Microsoft later restructured the transaction. Under the revised arrangement, Ubisoft obtained cloud-streaming rights outside the EEA for existing Activision Blizzard PC and console games and new PC and console games released during the following 15 years; the rights were described as perpetual. In the EEA, Ubisoft’s rights were non-exclusive so Microsoft could continue meeting its EU commitments. Microsoft’s rights FAQ explains the arrangement. The CMA approved the revised transaction on October 13, 2023. Its revised-deal case record covers that approval.
The contrast is not simply that one regulator was more lenient: the agencies used different market assessments and reached different conclusions about the remedies proposed to them. The UK solution also differed structurally from the EU’s behavioral licensing commitments.
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The U.S. challenge was a separate hurdle
The Federal Trade Commission challenged the acquisition in the United States. EU approval did not determine that case or override the UK CMA. In July 2023, a U.S. federal court denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction, allowing Microsoft to proceed subject to the remaining legal and regulatory issues. That court ruling was not the same as the FTC approving the deal. The FTC’s case page lists filings and developments.
How the transaction reached closing
- January 18, 2022: Microsoft announced the proposed acquisition at an approximate value of $68.7 billion. Microsoft’s acquisition history records the announcement.
- April 26, 2023: The UK CMA blocked the original transaction. CMA case record
- May 15, 2023: The European Commission approved the deal subject to cloud-gaming commitments. Commission decision
- August 21, 2023: Microsoft announced its restructured transaction involving Ubisoft’s cloud-streaming rights outside the EEA. Microsoft’s announcement
- October 13, 2023: The CMA approved the revised transaction, and Microsoft completed the acquisition. CMA decision and Microsoft closing announcement
What the approval meant for players
The EU remedy provided licensing access, not free games. A player still needed the relevant game entitlement, a compatible cloud service and an internet connection. It did not require every service to carry every eligible title, guarantee identical performance or catalog availability, or make subscriptions and broadband free. Microsoft’s EEA cloud-gaming FAQ explains the consumer and provider licenses.
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The geographic distinction matters too: the EU commitments concern the EEA, while the UK’s revised approval involved Ubisoft’s rights outside the EEA. The EU decision alone did not impose a universal requirement that Call of Duty remain on PlayStation; separate commercial agreements and representations during the broader regulatory process should not be confused with the Commission’s cloud-gaming remedy. Microsoft’s overview lists agreements involving Nintendo, Valve, Nvidia, EE, Ubitus and Boosteroid. Its transaction overview describes those arrangements.
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