On Tuesday, Microsoft submitted a fresh proposal for acquiring Activision Blizzard, offering a series of concessions after its initial bid was rejected by the UK regulator. The American technological giant first presented a $69 billion acquisition offer for Activision in January 2022, but has since faced regulatory challenges in the USA, Europe, and the UK.

On Tuesday, the UK Competition and Markets Authority confirmed that it had blocked the original agreement.

However, it stated that Microsoft and Activision have reached a new restructured agreement, which the CMA will now examine with a decision deadline set for October 18th.

The Redmond-based giant expects the review to be completed before this deadline, said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the restructured agreement, Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing computer and console games from Activision, nor for new games released by Activision over the next 15 years, as announced by the CMA.

Instead, these rights will be transferred to French game publisher Ubisoft Entertainment prior to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, as stated by the CMA.

Ubisoft’s stocks surged over 4% at the start of trading in Europe.

The CMA has been the staunchest critic of this acquisition, emphasizing concerns that the deal could limit competition in the emerging cloud gaming market.

Cloud gaming is perceived as the next frontier in the industry, offering subscription services that allow people to stream games just like movies or shows on Netflix. It could even eliminate the need for expensive consoles as users would play games on computers, mobile devices, and TVs.

Regulators had previously argued that Microsoft could also make key Activision games, such as Call of Duty, exclusive to Xbox consoles and other Microsoft platforms.

Source: CNBC.com