Microsoft has announced that China has unconditionally approved its plan to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard. China and the European Union are the two largest economies that have approved Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of the California-based game publisher, which is responsible for popular titles such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. However, China’s approval is complicated by the fact that Activision Blizzard stopped offering many of its games in mainland China earlier this year because of a dispute with its local publishing partner.
Game sales in mainland China come with a requirement that game-makers work with a Chinese publisher to release titles in the country. Since earlier this year, popular Activision Blizzard franchises such as World of Warcraft, the StarCraft series, Overwatch, and Diablo have been suspended because of a disagreement between Activision subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment and its Chinese partner, NetEase. Blizzard had a longstanding partnership with NetEase dating back to 2008, which helped the latter company grow to become China’s second-largest games distributor after local rival Tencent. But the US company said late last year that it would suspend most of its game services in China after current licensing agreements ended, leading to a public spat between the two companies.
Remaining Antitrust Opposition in the UK and US
Despite being cleared by China and the European Union, Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard still faces opposition in the United Kingdom and the United States due to antitrust concerns. British regulators have rejected the deal, and US authorities are trying to thwart it. European regulators representing the 27-nation bloc approved the deal on Monday on the condition that Microsoft make some promises to boost competition in the emerging cloud-based gaming market.
Microsoft says that its planned Activision acquisition, considered the priciest tech deal in history, has been cleared in 37 countries, including the 27 in the EU as well as 10 others such as China, Japan, and Brazil. However, the future of the deal remains uncertain due to the antitrust opposition in the UK and US.
Microsoft’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard has been approved by China and the European Union, but the deal still faces antitrust opposition in the UK and US. The approval of the deal by China is complicated by Activision Blizzard’s ongoing dispute with its local publishing partner in the country, which has led to the suspension of many of its games in mainland China. Despite being cleared in 37 countries, the future of the priciest tech deal in history remains uncertain.
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