Microsoft deadline $69 billion acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard It moves to October, which gives the tech company more time to get regulatory approval.
The date of the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger agreement will be moved from July 18 to October 18, according to SEC filings Posted on Wednesday. It comes a week after a judge rejected the US Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block the deal, while legal challenges are under way.
Microsoft revealed it for the first time Plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022. Closing the deal would turn Xbox manufacturer Microsoft into one of the top three video game publishers, right behind rival Sony. Activision Blizzard is one of the largest third-party publishers, with some major franchises that would give a much-needed boost to Microsoft’s game catalog, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Overwatch.
Although Microsoft has won some merger battles, it still has hurdles to clear.
Who is left to agree to the deal?
While Microsoft has managed to get around the FTC’s inhibitions, it has yet to get approval for the deal. The FTC says it is still considering options after it lost an appeal, and a group of individual plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt the deal, according to Reuters Wed report.
The UK is another major country that has not yet signed on to the deal. In April, the UK Competition and Markets Authority Bar deal $69 billion, saying it would lead to higher prices and fewer options for players. Microsoft’s appeal for the ruling says that the CMA “made material errors in its calculation and assessment of market share data for cloud gaming services by failing to consider limitations from original games (where players access games installed on their devices through a digital download or a physical disc).”
Microsoft continued to deny that the deal would hinder competition within the video game industry and continues to negotiate with regulators to gain approval.
What does this deal mean for players?
to Xbox Game Pass subscribersThe deal means that Activision Blizzard’s catalog of games will be integrated into the service, likely similar to how Bethesda games were when Microsoft acquired that company in 2020.
How-to for gamers who don’t have an Xbox, and instead are using Sony Playstation or Nintendo Switch console, will be less noticeable affected. Critics of the deal worry that Microsoft may make future games developed by Activision unavailable on competing consoles. (Microsoft has only done this for games developed by Bethesda.) This is especially true for a major Activision title like Call of Duty.
Microsoft has already agreed to a 10-year deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to its consolesbut Sony reportedly rejected a similar agreement.
Sony is still against the deal and She made filings to regulators about her concerns about the takeoverbut Microsoft and Sony agreed to a 10 years “binding agreement” To keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation platform.
What are cloud games?
Cloud gaming Remote video game streaming technology to a device such as a phone, tablet, or smart TV. Although the technology has been around for more than a decade, it has only taken off in recent years, thanks in part to it being an added advantage of Microsoft Xbox Game Pass And PS Plus from Sony.
Other companies have developed their own cloud gaming services, such as Amazon Luna And GeForce Now. make the former agreement with Microsoft in February to bring more of its games to the service over the next 10 years.
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