The CMA have confirmed that they will continue to block the proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
The CMA’s concerns still surround game streaming so in an effort to appease the regulators Microsoft have sold their European game streaming rights to Ubisoft.
Under the new deal Ubisoft will control the terms under which all current and new Activision games are licensed for cloud streaming. This will (in theory) prevent the games from being exclusive to x-cloud with Ubisoft able to licence them as either pay-to-play or to multi-game subscription services.
Ubisoft have said this new deal will also allow them to expand their own subscription service, Ubisoft+ by bringing Activision games to more people.
Microsoft hopes this new deal changes the original proposed buyout enough for the CMA to green light the merger. A decision from the CMA on the new deal is due on October 18th.
That is the same day as the deadline for the deal to close. After this date Microsoft will be forced to not only renegotiate the terms of the deal with Activision but pay billions of dollars to them for not competing the deal in time.
I had no idea that the Country Music Awards were so invested in blocking this merger.
After the EU allowed it and the FCT lost the case, the deal was done. It's funny how after blocking it and refusing to negotiate further, now this concession will (probably) be enough for the CMA.
It probably will as it’s being treated as a new deal which they will fast track a new investigation for.
But it looks likely to go through now as their only real sticking point was cloud exclusivity.