Microsoft is looking for a new route so that the purchase of Activision Blizzard, owner of Call of Duty or Candy Crush, definitely goes ahead. The operation, valued at around 60,000 million euros and which was announced at the beginning of 2022, remains blocked by the British authorities, who understand that it threatens competition. To try to convince regulators, Activision's global streaming rights, which Microsoft was supposed to buy, will be sold to French company Ubisoft.
The purchase has already gained approval from some 40 jurisdictions, going ahead in the US and the EU. London fears an excessive concentration of power in the cloud gaming market if the biggest purchase in history in the video game sector goes ahead. With the new agreement presented, Activision will also not be able to launch games like Overwatch or Diablo exclusively on their streaming services. Ubisoft will buy its cloud streaming rights for PC and consoles and any new games released in the next 15 years. It will be done with all the business except Europe, since Brussels had already accepted the purchase in its initial formulation.
In the Old Continent Ubisoft will have non-exclusive licenses to offer its rival's games. The shares of a French video game development and publishing company posted a rise of more than 8% on the Paris Stock Exchange.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will explore the new purchase agreement in a new investigation and will give its opinion on October 18. "Our goal has not changed: any future decisions on this new agreement will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition that drives innovation and choice," said CMA head Sarah Cardell.
