It’s technically not done yet. Technically. But the deal is probably done by this time next week.
Microsoft will very soon be able to buy Blizzard.
4 Likes
to be very clear, Overwatch 2 will not immediately undergo a decision change from Microsoft for at least another 2 years. The revolution of this change will first of all be internal:
- more hiring of new developers confident in joining Activision Blizzard to fill the staff shortages due to the corporate scandals. the most important objective is the change in the contractual conditions of employees;
- probable experiments in including game offers with the Game Pass;
- Overhaul of Activision’s administration center. most people hope for a definitive conclusion of Mr. Bobby Kotick, not exactly popular in the gaming industry;
- much more likely, an investigation of the activision / blizzard customer support centers and what protocols Microsoft / Xbox would like to carry out on its products.
Until then, Overwatch2 is still autonomous in its decisions so as not to collapse in on itself. right or wrong.
3 Likes
As someone from the UK I am so relieved lol
I think this is fantastic news since it means we probably get OW2 on GFN waaaaaaaaay sooner than we would’ve done otherwise!
Original press article for those interested:
While the CMA has identified limited residual concerns with the new deal, Microsoft has put forward remedies which the CMA has provisionally concluded should address these issues.
The CMA is now consulting on the remedies before making a final decision.
The new deal
Earlier this year, the CMA blocked Microsoft from acquiring the whole of Activision due to concerns that the deal would harm competition in cloud gaming in the UK. After that deal was blocked, Microsoft submitted a restructured transaction in August for the CMA to review.
Under that new deal, Microsoft will not purchase the cloud gaming rights held by Activision, which will instead be sold to an independent third party, Ubisoft Entertainment SA (Ubisoft), before the deal is completed.
The prior sale of the cloud gaming rights will establish Ubisoft as a key supplier of content to cloud gaming services, replicating the role that Activision would have played in the market as an independent player.
In contrast to the original deal, Microsoft will no longer control cloud gaming rights for Activision’s content, so would not be in a position to limit access to Activision’s key content to its own cloud gaming service or to withhold those games from rivals. Unlike the remedies the CMA previously rejected, Ubisoft will be free to offer Activision’s games both directly to consumers and to all cloud gaming service providers however it chooses, including for buy-to-play or multigame subscription services, or any new model for providing content that might emerge as the market develops. The deal with Ubisoft also requires Microsoft to port Activision games to operating systems other than Windows and support game emulators when requested, addressing the other main shortcoming with the previous remedies package.
Today’s decision
The CMA considers that the restructured deal makes important changes that substantially address the concerns it set out in relation to the original transaction earlier this year.
In particular, the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft will prevent this important content – including games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft – from coming under the control of Microsoft in relation to cloud gaming. The CMA originally found that Microsoft already has a strong position in cloud gaming services and could have used its control over Activision content to stifle competition and reinforce this position. The new deal instead results in the cloud streaming rights for Activision’s games being transferred to an independent player, Ubisoft, maintaining open competition as the market for cloud gaming develops over the coming years.
While the restructured deal is materially different to the previous transaction and substantially addresses most concerns, the CMA has limited residual concerns that certain provisions in the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft could be circumvented, terminated, or not enforced.
To address these concerns, Microsoft has offered remedies to ensure that the terms of the sale of Activision’s rights to Ubisoft are enforceable by the CMA. The CMA has provisionally concluded that this additional protection should resolve those residual concerns.
The CMA has now opened a consultation, until 6 October, on Microsoft’s proposed remedies.
Colin Raftery, senior director of mergers and Phase 1 decision maker, said:
“This is a new and substantially different deal, which keeps the cloud distribution of these important games in the hands of a strong independent supplier, Ubisoft, rather than under the control of Microsoft.”
“With additional protections to make sure that the deal is properly implemented, this will maintain the structure of the market, enabling open competition to continue to shape the development of cloud gaming in the years to come, and giving UK gamers the opportunity to access Activision’s games in many different ways, including through cloud-based multigame subscription services.”
Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA, said:
“The CMA’s position has been consistent throughout – this merger could only go ahead if competition, innovation, and choice in cloud gaming was preserved. In response to our original prohibition, Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal, taking the necessary steps to address our original concerns.
“It would have been far better, though, if Microsoft had put forward this restructure during our original investigation. This case illustrates the costs, uncertainty and delay that parties can incur if a credible and effective remedy option exists but is not put on the table at the right time.”
More information on the restructured transaction, the new Phase 1 investigation and how to submit comments is available on the Microsoft / Activision Blizzard (ex-cloud streaming rights) merger inquiry.
I can’t help but feel that Sarah Cardell is right - Microsoft wasted so much of their own time and money by not simply addressing the concerns sooner!
The CMA never legally defined the “market”. (Because they couldn’t, it wasn’t a market.)
They never had any legal obligation to do so…
Their obligation is simple:
- Protect consumers from competition concerns
They have successfully done so…
1 Like
GFN? GeForce Network? No way in hell, it’s going on Gamepass. If anyone’s crazy enough to put it “on the cloud” it’ll go on Gamepass Cloud.
And those of us smart enough not to waste time and bandwidth on twitch fps games on a cloud service will wipe the floor with the fools who apparently love 40ms+ of extra input lag.
Right, because the CAT case didn’t go all the way through.
They were breaking their own rules, but they didn’t get held accountable for it.
You wanna bet?
How about a 1v1 on Reinhardt - me on the GFN cloud and you on local?
And if it had they would’ve sided with the CMA since the CMA was obviously in the right all along…
Microsoft knew this - it’s why they requested and agreed to the adjournment…
Not possible, since NV will never pick up the game now.
EU concessions already concerned that, CMA just wanted to show more strength lol
you don’t even believe it
You can already play the game through GFN right now - it just requires a slightly tedious workaround heh…
They didn’t provide valid evidence.
And they didn’t even define their complaint.
How the heck do they win a court case on that, unless there’s literally no accountability in the court system?
It didn’t even get to that stage - it was just lawyers arguing about meaningless and excessively boring law stuff…
Yup I know.
I watched the case. 8 hours of Lawyers refusing the define their case, and begging for a delay until November.
The fact these lawyers still have jobs, is kinda sad. Highly immoral unprofessional conduct.
Right? even CAT didn’t agree with anything from the CMA and they would proceed with the merger without any concession.
But we know that hulk will never admit it, you can see his bias against Microsoft. I wonder if he also acts like this when another big tech announces a mega merger…
Pfft
Microsoft was so embarrassed and so lacking in confidence that they even asked for the trial not to be live streamed heh…
don’t forget that the CMA didn’t want a stream too