what you need to know
- Microsoft first announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard in January 2022.
- Since then, the agreement has faced scrutiny from governing bodies in the US, UK and EU.
- Microsoft has made several announcements and deals in an effort to persuade regulators to approve the acquisition.
- Over 81% of Windows Central readers who participated in our survey predict the deal will go through.
Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard almost 14 months ago. The acquisition still has several regulatory hurdles to overcome before it goes ahead. Microsoft has spent more than a year trying to convince US, UK and EU regulators to approve the deal. It appears that the tech giant has made some headway, with reports indicating that the European Union is leaning towards approving the purchase.
Even if the deal goes through EU regulators, it will still need to be approved by the UK CMA and US FTC. The likelihood of that happening is unclear, but we wanted to get an idea of whether our readers they believe that Microsoft will be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard.
Throughout this week, we ran a poll asking if people predict the deal will go through. More than 81% of the participants predicted that Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard would be approved.
Windows Central socket
Last month, Microsoft’s chances of buying Activision Blizzard seemed to be waning. The company then announced that Microsoft Activision titles will be on GeForce NOW and signed a binding agreement to have Xbox games on Nintendo hardware for 10 years. Those agreements appear to have influenced the EU, at least according to recent reports.
While the FTC feels the same way? It’s hard to say. The US regulator may be looking for a way to set a new precedent when it comes to major tech deals. Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard would certainly be an example if the FTC wants to stomp down and stop more deals of a similar size.
If the deal doesn’t go through, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer stressed that “Xbox will exist” in the future. Our Managing Editor, Jez Corden, also discussed what would and could happen if the deal is not approved.
Do you agree with our readers? Contact me on Twitter let me know.
