Microsoft’s long-running pursuit of Activision Blizzard reportedly ends next week with the imminent completion of its $69 billion buyout of the company behind Call of Duty.
The Verge reports Microsoft will seal the deal on Friday, October 13, pending final approval from the UK. If true, it’ll go through just five days before the October 18 deadline agreed by Microsoft and Activision.
Last month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally approved Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard after a new deal was submitted that included the divestiture of its cloud gaming business to Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft. Final approval from the CMA is expected next week, opening the door to Microsoft completing the merger immediately after.
Microsoft has already defeated the U.S.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in court, obtained approval from key regulator the European Commission, and secured an agreement with console rival Sony for the provision of Activision games on PlayStation for a decade.
It’s worth noting the FTC has an appeal lodged with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the U.S., but a decision on that isn’t due until early December. The FTC also has an administrative case of its own waiting in the wings, but that won’t kick off until 21 days after the Ninth Circuit makes a call on the appeal. The FTC appears to intend to undo the merger after the fact, although experts say such a move would be unprecedented.
Thoughts have already turned to Microsoft’s integration of the Activision Blizzard business, and the future of games such as Call of Duty. In an August interview with IGN, Xbox boss Phil Spencer indicated work would need to be done to get Activision Blizzard’s games on Game Pass once the deal closes.
“I want to make sure people know that there’s work to actually move games to Game Pass,” Spencer said. “So, for the people who think the deal is going to close and then everything’s available, that’s not true. And it hasn’t been true in other acquisitions that we’ve done. There’s work for us to go do, just mechanical work for us to go do. So, it’ll take us time, definitely time to get the games in the portfolio.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
