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The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved Microsoft’s restructured acquisition of Activision Blizzard on October 13, 2023, and Microsoft completed the purchase that day. It was not approval of the original deal: the CMA had blocked that proposal in April 2023, then accepted a revised transaction after Microsoft transferred specified cloud-streaming rights outside the European Economic Area to Ubisoft.
What happened—and what the $68.7 billion figure means
Microsoft announced the proposed acquisition in January 2022 at an approximate value of $68.7 billion. After nearly 21 months of regulatory review, the CMA consented to the revised transaction on October 13, 2023. Microsoft closed the acquisition the same day, bringing Activision Blizzard into Microsoft’s gaming business.
The sequence matters: the CMA prohibited the original proposal on April 26, 2023, and later reviewed a materially restructured deal. Its final decision was not a reversal that let the original transaction proceed unchanged. The CMA’s revised-transaction case record sets out the final approval and the transaction’s scope.
Why the CMA blocked the original proposal
The CMA’s decisive concern was competition in cloud gaming. It considered whether Microsoft, after acquiring Activision Blizzard’s valuable catalogue, could weaken competing cloud-streaming services by withholding games, limiting access or otherwise making its own offering more attractive. Microsoft already had gaming businesses and distribution channels that the regulator considered relevant to that risk.
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The issue was not simply whether Microsoft would own many popular games, nor was the CMA’s decision a finding that the acquisition would necessarily eliminate competition in console sales. The regulator’s stated rationale centered on the risk to future competition and consumer choice in cloud gaming. Its April 2023 announcement explains why it prohibited the original transaction.
What Microsoft changed in the revised deal
Microsoft changed control of the relevant cloud-streaming rights rather than giving up ownership of Activision Blizzard. Under the revised arrangement, Ubisoft Entertainment received the rights to stream Activision Blizzard’s current PC and console games, as well as new PC and console games released during the following 15 years, outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
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The arrangement gave Ubisoft the ability to license those rights to other cloud-gaming providers and to offer the games through different commercial models, including buy-to-play and multigame subscriptions. The CMA’s approval announcement describes how it expected the remedy to preserve routes for competing cloud services; the CMA final order contains the formal terms.
Ubisoft received cloud rights, not the franchises
Ubisoft did not buy Activision Blizzard, its studios or the underlying intellectual property in franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. Microsoft acquired the company and its games; Ubisoft received specified rights concerning cloud streaming in the covered territories. Describing Ubisoft as the owner of Activision’s games, or as having acquired Activision Blizzard’s cloud business, would overstate the arrangement.
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The remedy had a geographic boundary
The Ubisoft transfer covered cloud-streaming rights outside the EEA, which comprises European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The European Commission had separately approved the broader transaction subject to its own cloud-game licensing commitments. The CMA remedy should therefore not be described as a worldwide transfer of cloud rights. The European Commission decision record documents the separate E.U. decision.
Why Ubisoft’s role addressed the CMA’s concern
The CMA’s concern was that Microsoft might become a gatekeeper for Activision Blizzard games in cloud gaming. A promise by Microsoft to license access would still leave Microsoft controlling the relevant rights. The revised structure instead placed those rights with an independent company able to license them to cloud providers and choose how they were packaged.
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On September 22, 2023, the CMA provisionally concluded that the revised proposal addressed its previous concerns and opened a consultation. That was not final approval. The final consent came on October 13. The September announcement explains the provisional finding, while the case record documents the later decision.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the acquisition affected Xbox, PlayStation and Game Pass
Microsoft’s acquisition gave it ownership of Activision Blizzard and its portfolio, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Candy Crush. That ownership, however, is different from the right to stream games through cloud services, and both are different from console distribution or inclusion in a subscription.
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- Ownership: Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard; Ubisoft did not.
- Cloud streaming: Ubisoft received specified cloud-streaming rights outside the EEA, with licensing powers set out in the revised arrangement.
- Console access: The CMA approval was not a blanket guarantee that every game would appear on every console. Any separate commitments about games on rival consoles are distinct from this cloud-rights remedy.
- Subscriptions: Approval did not mean that every Activision Blizzard title would immediately enter Game Pass or be offered identically across console, PC and cloud.
The CMA’s decision addressed the competition concern it had identified in cloud gaming. It did not settle every future question about exclusivity, pricing, release timing or subscription availability.
How the U.K. decision fit the wider regulatory battle
The CMA’s approval removed the final major regulatory obstacle to closing, but regulatory decisions were jurisdiction-specific. The European Commission had made a separate decision for the E.U. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also pursued a separate challenge; the CMA’s decision did not resolve that case or amount to FTC approval. A 2025 FTC filing refers to the transaction and the CMA outcome in the context of U.S. proceedings.
Key dates in the CMA review
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 18, 2022 | Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for approximately $68.7 billion in cash. |
| September 2022 | The CMA opened an in-depth review of the proposed acquisition. |
| February 2023 | The CMA provisionally identified competition concerns, particularly in cloud gaming. |
| April 26, 2023 | The CMA prohibited the original transaction. |
| August 21, 2023 | Microsoft announced a restructured transaction involving cloud-streaming rights for Ubisoft. |
| August 22, 2023 | Microsoft and Activision Blizzard notified the CMA of the revised transaction. |
| September 22, 2023 | The CMA provisionally found the revised proposal addressed its concerns and consulted on it. |
| October 13, 2023 | The CMA approved the restructured deal and Microsoft completed the acquisition. |
The CMA’s investigation timeline records the review and original prohibition. Microsoft’s restructuring announcement describes the revised arrangement and the extension of the deal’s contractual deadline to October 18, 2023.
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