According to a company regulatory filing, Microsoft has completed the $69 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
It’s the biggest acquisition Microsoft has ever made, and it comes after the corporation addressed regulators’ concerns about competition in the U.K. and Europe and earned an approved ruling from a U.S. district judge.
The deal received approval from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, paving the path for the closing.
The transaction, which was announced in January 2022, offers Microsoft a sizable portfolio of video game assets, including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and Warcraft.
The acquisition was held up by regulatory opposing views. Microsoft stated its intention to complete the purchase by the end of June 2023 when it first announced the agreement in January 2022. The two companies decided to extend the deadline to October 18 in July.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wrote in a blog post, “Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months.”
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, will continue in his position until the end of the year.
Several regulatory bodies, including the FTC in the United States, the European Commission, and the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom, expressed concerns about the deal.
Microsoft offered reassurances to European regulators. The business agreed to provide free licenses to streaming service providers and users in the European Economic Area so that European players can access Activision Blizzard games over the cloud.
Microsoft made ten-year deals with Nintendo and Sony, the makers of competing game consoles, guaranteeing them access to Call of Duty games. Microsoft also entered into agreements of a similar nature with cloud gaming service providers such as Boosteroid, Nvidia, Nware, and Ubitus.
In its most recent fiscal year, Activision Blizzard brought in $7.5 billion in revenue, a paltry sum compared to Microsoft’s $212 billion in revenue.
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