Competition Markets Authority
Statutory timetable
| Phase 1 | Action |
|---|---|
| 18 October 2023 | Deadline for phase 1 decision (*) |
| 22 August 2023 to 1 September 2023 | Invitation to comment |
| 22 August 2023 | Launch of merger inquiry |
(*) This date is the current statutory deadline by when the decision will be announced. If any change occurs, the information is refreshed as soon as practicable. However, the CMA cannot guarantee that the decision will be announced on or before this current deadline, as the deadline of a given case may change during the merger assessment process due to different reasons.
Phase 1
Launch of merger inquiry
22 August 2023: The CMA announced the launch of its merger inquiry by notice to the parties.
- (22.8.23)
- Press release: Microsoft submits new deal for review after CMA confirms original deal is blocked (22.8.23)
Invitation to comment: closes on Friday 1 September
Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision) have notified to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) an acquisition by which Microsoft will acquire Activision, excluding Activisions cloud streaming rights outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). As part of the proposed acquisition, Activisions global cloud streaming rights (excluding the EEA) for all current and future Activision PC and console games released during the next 15 years will be divested to Ubisoft Entertainment SA (Ubisoft).
The divestment will take place immediately before completion of Microsofts acquisition of Activision. Ubisoft will also receive a non-exclusive licence for Activisions EEA cloud gaming rights to enable it to stream and sub-license streaming of Activision games in that region. At the same time, Microsoft will receive a non-exclusive licence from Ubisoft for cloud streaming rights to the extent necessary for Microsoft to fulfil its obligations under its commitments to the European Commission and certain existing third-party cloud streaming agreements.
The terms of the transaction will allow Ubisoft to commercialise these rights to other cloud gaming services providers (including to Microsoft itself). Ubisoft will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activisions games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage.
Ubisoft will have the right to license out the cloud streaming rights to Activisions games under any business model of its choosing, including buy-to-play, multigame subscription services, or any other model that may arise. Ubisoft will also be able, for a fee, to require Microsoft to adapt Activisions titles to operating systems other than Windows, such as Linux, if it decides to use or license out the cloud streaming rights to Activisions titles to a cloud gaming service that runs a non-Windows operating system.
The CMA has previously investigated the anticipated acquisition by Microsoft of (the entirety of) Activision, concluding, in its Final Report issued on 26 April 2023, that the creation of that relevant merger situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) in the supply of cloud gaming services in the UK, and that prohibition of that transaction was an effective and proportionate remedy to address that SLC and any resulting adverse effects. On 22 August 2023, the CMA imposed a Final Order that prohibits Microsoft from acquiring an interest in Activision unless it obtains prior written consent to do so from the CMA.
The CMA is considering whether it is or may be the case that this merger, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in an SLC within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.
The CMA therefore invites comments from any interested party on the impact that the newly structured merger could have on competition in the UK. In light of the substantial overlap with the matters considered in the Final Report of 26 April 2023 and the matters at issue in this investigation, the CMA currently expects to rely heavily on the evidence and analysis undertaken for the purposes of that report in this investigation.
These comments should be provided by the deadline set out above to:Microsoft.Activision.P1@cma.gov.uk.
Your name and contact details are your personal data. In collecting, receiving, storing, accessing and using your personal data, the CMA, as controller, is processing your personal data. The CMA processes personal data in accordance with data protection law. The CMA is processing your personal data so that it can contact you again, should it need further help or information from you, in order to carry out its merger work under Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002. For more information about how the CMA processes personal data and your rights relating to that data, please see our Privacy Notice.