Microsoft Reportedly Planning on Offering Concessions to Regulators for Activision Acquisition

The Microsoft-Acquisition deal is poised to become the biggest gaming deals in history. However, it continues to be stuck at regulators like the US’s FTC, UK’s CMA and the European Commission.

With concerns of Activision’s franchises like Call of Duty causing major changes in buying trends of consumers, Microsoft has been unable to gain the all-clear sign from the above-mentioned regulators.

Recently, the European Union opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, citing concerns of Microsoft closing access to “Activision Blizzard’s console and PC video games, especially to high-profile and highly successful games (so-called ‘AAA’ games) such as ‘Call of Duty’.”

According to Reuters, the European Union will need to send a list of issues regarding the reduced competition in the market following the acquisition. While the deadline to send the list to Microsoft is in January, the tech giants might be planning to offer remedies in order to shorten the regulatory process.

The report mentions that Microsoft’s concession for the deal to the European Union will most likely be a 10-year licensing deal to its primary competitor, Sony PlayStation. Recently, it was reported that the Xbox-owner offered the Sony-owned PlayStation 10 years of access to Call of Duty.

At the moment, it remains to be seen if Microsoft’s potential concessions will clear every cause of concern for the European Union. Furthermore, it’s also unclear whether these remedies will satisfy US’s FTC and UK’s CMA.

Without the green light from these regulators, the $69 billion deal between Activision and Microsoft hangs in the balance. With the European Union having until April to approve the deal, it will be interesting to see if the massive acquisition between the giants of their industry will pull through.