The UK CMA says Microsoft's revised offer to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69B, which includes selling some gaming rights to Ubisoft, addresses its concerns
new consultation suggests an end to the drawn-out Activision Blizzard acquisition saga Oli Welsh / Polygon : A Ubisoft sale clears the final obstruction for the Microsoft-Activision merger Siôn Geschwindt / TNW : Microsoft's $69B Activision merger on track for green light Mark Sweney / The Guardian : UK set to clear Microsoft's deal to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard Edwin Evans-Thirlwell / Rock, Paper, Shotgun : UK regulator provisionally approves Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard buyout, following Ubisoft deal George Foster / TheGamer : UK's CMA “Provisionally” Approves Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition Laurent Giret / Thurrott : The UK's CMA Provisionally Approves Microsoft's Restructured Activision Blizzard Deal Wall Street Journal : Microsoft's Activision Deal Clears Main Hurdle as U.K. Regulator Accepts Changes Ben Kerry / Pure Xbox : CMA Approval A ‘Significant Milestone’ Towards Xbox Merging With Activision Blizzard Surur / BigTechWire : UK's CMA Appears to Drop Final Hurdle in Microsoft/Activision Merger Sean Carey / TrueAchievements : UK regulator provisionally clears Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal Pam K Ferdinand / Game Rant : Microsoft's Activision Acquisition Gets Preliminary Approval from CMA Pulasthi Ariyasinghe / Neowin : UK CMA provisionally approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard Steve Dent / Engadget : Microsoft's Activision merger set to get its final UK approval Wesley Yin-Poole / IGN : Microsoft/Activision Buyout Looks Set to Close in October After UK Finally Approves Deal James Batchelor / GamesIndustry.biz : UK preliminarily approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard Metro : Activision Blizzard acquisition given provisional go ahead by UK's CMA TechRadar : Activision responds to CMA's preliminary approval of Microsoft merger, CEO Bobby Kotick remains “optimistic” Pradeep Viswav / MSPoweruser : UK's CMA is happy with Microsoft's new Activision deal that addresses its concerns in cloud gaming Alessio Palumbo / Wccftech : Microsoft's Restructured Activision Blizzard Deal Addresses Previous Concerns, Says CMA; Approval Now Likely Issy van der Velde / Dot Esports : UK likely to approve Microsoft Activision merger, but this isn't a win for gaming Vish Gain / Silicon Republic : UK finally set to clear Microsoft deal to acquire Activision Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat : U.K. regulators finally approve Microsoft's $68.7B acquisition of Activision Blizzard RTÉ : Britain set to clear fresh Microsoft-Activision deal George Simister / UKTN : Microsoft's revamped Activision deal gets provisional approval Business Post : Microsoft's Activision deal set to get UK's CMA approval John Quintet / iPhone in Canada Blog : UK Gives Preliminary Nod to Microsoft-Activision Merger Blue's News : UK CMA “Opens the Door” to Microsoft/Activision Approval William James / Reuters : UK says grounds to clear Microsoft's Activision deal Threads: Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : Interesting fine print about Ubisoft's rights, including the opportunity to call for ports to non-Windows platforms and the ability to request support for “emulators” “Ubisoft may also request that Microsoft perform technical modifications, including to ensure that the Activision Games support emulators like Proton” … @randomwitch64 : Everywhere, except Playstation. Lol @m1st3rp0stm4n : 1. That's not true. XCloud is available on just about everything with a screen. 2. I no longer have sympathy for people who fanboy themselves to a single console. It's a silly mindset. 3. No one seems to have this issue when Sony does the same thing. Look at all the studios they've bought. … @m1st3rp0stm4n : Wooooo! Great news for gamers everywhere! X: Brad Smith / @bradsmi : We are encouraged by this positive development in the CMA's review process. We presented solutions that we believe fully address the CMA's remaining concerns related to cloud game streaming, and we will continue to work toward earning approval to close prior to the October 18... Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : In the fine print of today's Microsoft-Activision UK news: The first ever regulatory requirement to support video game emulators? “Ubisoft may also request that Microsoft perform technical modifications,including to ensure that the Activision Games support emulators like Proton” [image] @hmtreasury : The UK video games industry contributes £2.8bn to our economy & employs 27,000 people across the country. The Chancellor @Jeremy_Hunt held a meeting with top US video game companies where he spoke about the UK's thriving creative sector & why we're a good place to invest. [image] Tae Kim / @firstadopter : Microsoft ends the week with a major victory. The last roadblock for the Activision deal is likely done. Microsoft's policy and comms team navigated the global regulatory environment with effective “flood the zone” messaging and a smart tactical strategy. Could be a case study. Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : @Kappische Yep. Happy user of a Steam Deck over here. Deal runs for a long time, so we'll see what “emulators” can be defined as a decade from now. @ethangach : Bobby Kotick threatened UK it would become “death valley” if it rejected Activision's $69 billion sale to Microsoft. Today country regulators provisionally approved the deal. Game companies got $200 million in UK subsidies last year. Kotick will get $390 million from the sale. [image] Jez / @jezcorden : UK government recently discovered that we have a gaming industry. Kaplan / @kappische : @stephentotilo this is proton https://github.com/... Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : Note that Ubisoft also has the power to call for non-Windows ports (based on the idea that the UK was worried that Microsoft could potentially monopolize cloud streaming at the OS level) “Microsoft must port Activision Games to non-Windows OS following a request from Ubisoft.” @boosteroid_main : One step closer to implementing Microsoft's vision to change the industry for the better. @mischiefsyt : Bobby Kotick always looks incredibly demonic [image] Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : This is baked into a deal tied to Ubisoft controlling cloud-streaming rights to current Activision Blizzard games and those made over next 15 years No idea what Ubisoft might ask for in a decade, but seems they might be able to run a 2025 Call of Duty on an emulator in 2035? @bavariravab : @IGN Phil Spencer: [image] Tom Warren / @tomwarren : the timing. Here's Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick meeting with the UK Chancellor just as the CMA provisionally approves Microsoft's Activision deal. Kotick previously said the UK would be a “Death Valley” of investment and opportunities if the deal didn't go ahead Lulu Cheng Meservey / @lulumeservey : The CMA's preliminary approval is great news for Activision Blizzard's future with Microsoft. We're glad the CMA has responded positively to the solutions Microsoft has proposed, and together we'll continue to work toward completing the regulatory review process. Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Xbox chief Phil Spencer's memo to employees about the CMA's provisional approval of Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard deal: “I have an encouraging update to share about our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Today, the UK CMA provisionally concluded that the... @ethangach : CMA reverses course and provisionally approves Microsoft's new deal to buy Activision Blizzard which involves Ubisoft getting cloud rights in the UK. Final decision is still coming but hard to see anything stopping the acquisition now. https://www.gov.uk/... [image] Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : Microsoft's purchase of Activision is nearly a sure thing as of this morning. UK's previously resistant competition regulator has given provisional approval to the revised deal that gives Ubisoft control of cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games https://www.axios.com/... @ethangach : CEO of the CMA blames the regulatory holdup on Microsoft: “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” Tom Warren / @tomwarren : turns out this week remains crazy 🥲 CMA posted its preliminary decision a little earlier than I was expecting. Now anticipating a final decision on Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal in early October [image] George Osborn / @georgeosborn : 7am: CMA provisionally approves Microsoft's restructured deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. 11am: HM Treasury pops this photo up of Jeremy Hunt meeting US games industry leaders. [image] LinkedIn: Harry Clark : Almost 450 days later and the CMA has finally given the (preliminary) nod to the Microsoft/Activision deal. … Forums: r/GeForceNOW : New Microsoft/Activision deal addresses previous CMA concerns in cloud gaming r/XboxSeriesX : CMA have released preliminary findings for ABK deal... it's good! r/PS5 : New Microsoft/Activision deal addresses previous CMA concerns in cloud gaming r/Games : New Microsoft/Activision deal addresses previous CMA concerns in cloud gaming
Context & Ripple Effects
The CMA had previously blocked the transaction over cloud gaming, an unusual focus on a still-developing market; Microsoft then reworked the transaction around Ubisoft's acquisition of certain cloud rights. EU approval had already come with access commitments for rivals, leaving the UK remedy as the key unresolved test.
This consultation indicates that separating those rights may satisfy the CMA’s concern that Microsoft’s ownership of Activision would constrain cloud-game distribution. The later final CMA approval of the restructured transaction shows why this provisional step was consequential in the deal’s arc.
First-order effects
- Microsoft and Activision Blizzard gain a credible route through the UK review, contingent on the consultation and completion of the rights divestiture.
- Ubisoft becomes the holder of specified Activision Blizzard cloud-gaming rights, limiting Microsoft’s direct control over how those titles are licensed for cloud services.
Second-order effects
- Cloud-gaming providers have a prospective alternative licensing counterparty for covered Activision titles, rather than negotiating solely with Microsoft.
- The remedy makes deal structure—not just behavioral promises—central to securing approval, raising the bar for large game-content acquisitions facing cloud-market scrutiny.
Third-order effects
- If regulators continue to treat cloud distribution as a distinct competitive layer, ownership of game libraries will increasingly be assessed alongside control of platforms and licensing channels.
- The case points toward remedies that redistribute digital rights to independent operators, though their effectiveness will depend on the terms and execution of the resulting licenses.
The trend: Game-industry consolidation is being shaped by regulators’ growing attention to cloud distribution rights and the competitive leverage of content catalogs.