Britain clears Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal

The Competition and Markets Authority, a British regulator, approved on Friday a $69 billion deal for Microsoft to acquire video game publisher Activision Blizzard. The regulator blocked Microsoft’s original deal in April but approved it after a revised proposal addressed the initial concerns.

What issues did Microsoft have to fix? The Competition and Markets Authority was concerned that Microsoft would corner the video game market by acquiring Activision. The reworked deal will see Microsoft handing distribution rights of Activision games to French publisher Ubisoft, which regulators say will “preserve competitive prices” in the gaming industry. Microsoft will still control Activision’s biggest games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Perley and Georgia Lodewyk’s report in WORLD Magazine on Christian colleges embracing video gaming as a competitive sport.