Gaming

Microsoft wins EU approval for $69bn Activision Deal

EU’s blessing flies in the face of negative decisions by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority last month

The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services.

Microsoft’s $69 billion (€63.5 billion) takeover of Activision Blizzard won European Union approval, just weeks after the UK’s merger regulator delivered a shock decision to veto the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal.

The European Commission said its own analysis showed the deal wouldn’t hurt competition after Microsoft vowed to let cloud rivals offer blockbuster titles such as Call of Duty on their own platforms for 10 years. The approval means the fate of the deal ...