Phil Spencer is the chief of the Xbox division
Microsoft has completed its $68.7-billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Diablo. The acquisition required 20 months of battles with regulators in UK and US, but Microsoft has closed its Activision Blizzard deal after defeating FTC in US federal court and restructuring the deal to appease CMA in UK.
Phil Spencer welcomed employees of Activision to Microsoft in a memo
Microsoft has received all regulatory approvals necessary to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. “We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close, and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world,” said Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick in an email. Kotick added that he would remain as Activision’s CEO until the end of 2023.
The EU may need to rethink Microsoft’s deal
The UK’s CMA will assess Microsoft’s re-negotiated deal to acquire Activision Blizzard over the coming weeks and deliver a decision by the October 18 deadline. The CMA has said that any future decision on the deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from “open and effective competition driving innovation and choice”.