The European Commission has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard just weeks after the UK competition regulator blocked the £55bn merger.
The Commission says its in-depth market investigation indicated that the deal would not harm rival Microsoft consoles and rival multi-game subscription services.
However, it acknowledged that Microsoft could harm competition in the distribution of games via cloud game streaming services, and that its position in the market for PC operating systems would be strengthened.
To address the competition concerns, Microsoft has committed to licensing commitments with a ten-year duration. This includes a free licence to consumers in the European Economic Area (EEA) that would allow them to stream all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a licence for....