The next development in the story of what would be the biggest deal of its kind in the gaming business is Microsoft’s new offer to acquire Activision Blizzard, which is the company that makes the Call of Duty video game.
Regulators in the UK rejected the original $69 billion (£59 billion) agreement.
The new offer, according to Microsoft President Brad Smith, is “primarily different” and needs to be accepted.
Although the purchase will be reviewed, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated: “This is not a green light.”
If accepted, the offer would put an end to a turbulent 18 months for Microsoft.
The proposed merger split authorities worldwide when it first came out that it intended to acquire Activision Blizzard in January of last year. Some are concerned that it would limit the options available to gamers.
Microsoft’s amended offer will be decided on by the CMA by October 18; without its approval, the deal cannot proceed internationally.
Microsoft is hoping that the combination will increase interest in its Xbox gaming system and its gaming subscription service.
Microsoft agreed to give video game maker Ubisoft the license to broadcast Activision games from the cloud for 15 years as part of the new deal.
According to Mr. Smith, “Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service – Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.”
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It claimed that 40 nations, including the European Union and China, had approved the first offer for the company as of this point.
The US Federal Trade Commission is still trying to stop the deal in the US, but the courts have repeatedly rejected its arguments.
The CMA, however, barred the partnership in April after warning that it would limit customer freedom and innovation in the quickly expanding cloud gaming industry.
Mr. Smith was incensed by the decision, calling it “bad for Britain” and Microsoft’s “darkest day” in the company’s fifty years of operations in the nation.
It was also a defeat for the UK government, which wants to see the nation rise as a global leader in technology.
According to the modified agreements, Ubisoft would make Activision material available “to all cloud gaming service providers, including Microsoft itself.”
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision, said the agreement had taken “a longer journey than expected” but that “nothing really changes” with the current offer.
“We will continue to work closely with Microsoft and the CMA throughout the remaining review process, and we are committed to helping Microsoft clear any final hurdles as quickly as possible,” he said.
In order to expand the selection of games available through Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft wants to acquire Activision.
Members must pay a monthly subscription fee to access a library of online games.
Rivals like Sony, which are worried that Microsoft could stop key titles from being made available to its own PlayStation division, have protested the pact.
More than half of all copies sold in the UK for PlayStation were in Modern Warfare 2, the most recent entry in the Call of Duty series, which made $1 billion over its opening weekend.
Regulators in the UK, the US, and the EU must approve the Microsoft-Activision merger for it to go through.
The CMA would also benefit from the new bid’s success because it would have a second chance to approve the transaction.
It has come under fire for rejecting it from happening.
Microsoft’s current offer, according to CMA CEO Sarah Cardell, is “substantially different from what was put on the table previously.”
“We will carefully and objectively analyze the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments,” the spokesperson added.
“Our goal has not changed; any decision on this new agreement in future years will ensure that the expanding cloud gaming market continues to gain from open and effective competition that fosters innovation and choice.”
