Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard is now closer to going through as British competition regulators gave their preliminary approval. If the deal goes through, it will be one of the largest tech transactions in history, reports the Associated Press.
The Competition and Markets Authority said the restructured proposal “substantially addresses previous concerns” and that it “opens the door to the deal being cleared,” though the watchdog admitted there are still concerns remaining, but Microsoft offered that the watchdog provisionally decide how to resolve those issues.
“The CMA’s position has been consistent throughout — this merger could only go ahead if competition, innovation and choice in cloud gaming was preserved,” CEO Sarah Cardell said. Regulators were concerned that the deal would harm competition and wanted to free players from buying expensive gaming computers and consoles by streaming to tablets, phones, and other devices. “In response to our original prohibition, Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal, taking the necessary steps to address our original concerns.”
Since the deal was announced in January 2022, Microsoft has secured approval form regulators covering more than 40 countries, including the approval from the European Union after saying Microsoft will allow users to stream in cloud gaming platforms without paying royalties for 10 years.
Still, regulators in the U.S. and Britain feared Microsoft’s deal would harm players using Sony’s PlayStation instead of Microsoft’s Xbox.
Both companies agreed to extend the original deadline for the deal to close to mid-October.