It would seem Microsoft’s long, uphill battle to acquire Activision Blizzard could be nearing its end. The Verge reports via an unnamed source that the deal could be closed by the end of next week, though they mentioned that is still tentative, as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority could still threaten the successful closure of Microsoft’s long-sought deal.
If the deal is indeed closed by its target date of October 13 — Friday the 13th — that will mark the end of a nearly two-year long process for Microsoft to add the Call of Duty publisher to its rank and file.
It all began on January 18, 2022 when the deal was announced. In the nearly two years since the process began, a big concern has been whether or not this deal would impede competition in the gaming space. The focus has been on Call of Duty, a franchise that has been multi-platform for most of its life, but the concern could be applied to a great many franchises.
It’s a valid anxiety to have, given Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios has made The Elder Scrolls VI, part of a series that has also been multiplatform since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, to be exclusive to PC and Xbox. But, at least in regards to the Call of Duty franchise, Xbox head Phil Spencer committed to continuing its legacy as a multiplatform series. That hasn’t exactly impressed everyone involved in this debacle, including outgoing PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan.
Microsoft’s attempt to purchase Activision Blizzard has gone through several regulatory reviews, including a court battle with the United States Federal Trade Commission where Microsoft eventually won out. The FTC is appealing the outcome of its decision after failing to block it, with a decision on its appeal due to arrive in December. Otherwise, CMA has stood as essentially the last barrier to the deal going through, initially blocking the acquisition and now reconsidering after a restructuring of the deal.
As mentioned, the deal is not set in stone, though the CMA has an incoming deadline of today to gather opinion on whether it will allow the acquisition to continue. If the deal is greenlit to close on October 13, it will beat the revised deal deadline of October 18 by a narrow margin, thus ending this long and drawn-out acquisition.
