In early 2022, Microsoft made a bid to acquire video game developer Activision-Blizzard-King, which is known for developing video game series such as Assassins Creed, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Candy Crush.
The big issue for Microsoft is that they have also taken over a number of other video game development companies such as ZeniMax (Bethesda), Double Fine and id Software which are also seen developing very popular multi-platform games.
Today, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom has given the nod to allow Microsoft to take over Activision-Blizzard-King for $69 billion (RM355 billion) after agreeing to give cloud game streaming rights to Ubisoft Games, which gives the company streaming rights to ABK's games for at least 15 years after the takeover is complete.
This is to ensure that Microsoft does not dominate all console and computer game service offering markets now, especially when they have subscription plans such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass that offer games at a subscription price only.
The CMA is also seen to agree to allow this acquisition after Microsoft also signed several agreements to allow their games to be streamed on the NVIDIA GeForce Now game streaming platform and also bring the Call of Duty first-person shooter game series to the Nintendo Switch platform.