The European Commission sees nothing wrong with Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard King for $68.7 billion.

The European Commission has therefore approved the transaction, as Microsoft has been able to address concerns thoroughly, and the Redmond tech giant could provide a significant improvement in cloud gaming compared to the current situation. The Commission’s report is not detailed here, as it would be a tedious legal mumbo-jumbo. The point is that it removes another obstacle to Microsoft’s expansion. However, two authorities are still rejecting the company’s takeover bid.

While in the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought an antitrust case against Microsoft (they see the deal as anti-competitive), in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has rejected the acquisition. Now that the European Commission has also given Microsoft the green light, the CMA has issued a new statement stressing that it remains firmly opposed to the case:

“The UK, US, and European competition authorities are unanimous that this merger would harm competition in cloud gaming. The CMA concluded that cloud gaming needs to continue as a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice in this rapidly evolving sector. Microsoft’s proposals, accepted by the European Commission today, would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next ten years. They would replace a free, open, and competitive market with one subject to ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms to which it sells them, and the conditions of sale. This is one of the reasons the CMA’s independent panel group rejected Microsoft’s proposals and prevented this deal. While we recognize and respect that the European Commission is entitled to take a different view, the CMA stands by its decision,” the CMA wrote.

So Microsoft cannot close the deal any time soon…

Source: Gematsu, WCCFTech