THE UK has made a huge announcement concerning the future of Microsoft and Xbox gaming.
As one of the last countries to try and deny the huge upgrade for the company, a new deal will allow the contract to move ahead.
1
In January 2022, Microsoft proposed to purchase one of the world’s largest publishers, Activision Blizzard, for a staggering $69billion (£57billion).
This would be the largest ever purchase in the gaming industry and give Microsoft and Xbox a huge library of first-party games.
Activision Blizzard owns a number of studios and gaming properties including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Candy Crush.
Once the deal is completed then Microsoft will gain power over these properties and can decide things such as on which consoles these games will launch, and whether they appear on Game Pass.
More in Xbox
The deal is the biggest acquisition ever for gaming, and competition authorities around the world discussed the issues with giving Microsoft such a dominant position over the industry.
While the vast majority of countries accepted the deal, the UK was the last to hold out on allowing the deal to go ahead.
The CMA cited the potential for cloud gaming as one of their biggest concerns, claiming that streaming is potentially the future for games.
However, they have allowed the deal to go ahead if Microsoft agrees to hand over the cloud gaming rights of Activision Blizzard to Ubisoft.
Most read in Gaming
Prior to this decision there were talks about Microsoft pulling out of the UK, meaning that Call of Duty would be banned.
However, this was a last resort for Microsoft with hopes that the UK would eventually allow the deal to move forward.
If you want to find out more about the issues surrounding the Activision Blizzard deal in the UK, you can check out our round up.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
All the latest Gaming tips and tricks
Looking for tips and tricks across your favourite consoles and games? We have you covered…
