By Natalia Rueda 
Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been given the green light by the European Union. After the UK body said no, the European Commission now affirms that the Big Tech’s purchase will not harm competition in the video game industry.
The European Commission found that the acquisition would not significantly harm competition in the console market, as Microsoft would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision games to Sony. In addition, the Commission has allowed Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to offer free licenses for users to stream on any cloud game streaming service for the next 10 years, including all Activision Blizzard titles. This will ensure that Activision games are of the same quality and content as games available for traditional download.
However, the Commission still found that the acquisition could harm competition in the distribution of games for consoles and PC through cloud services. To ensure that competition will not be harmed, Microsoft has agreed to provide licenses for large franchises such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush to competing cloud gaming services based in the European Economic Area.
However, despite these concessions, some are worried that the acquisition will allow Microsoft to gain too much power in the gaming industry. The company already owns the popular Xbox video game console, and by adding Activision Blizzard to its portfolio, Microsoft will have an even greater influence on the industry. Critics fear that this could lead to a lack of competition and a decrease of innovation as Microsoft tightens its grip on the gaming world.
Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is one of the largest game industry acquisitions in history and will create a gaming giant. The acquisition is expected to close in the coming months, after which Microsoft will have a large portfolio of iconic gaming franchises.