Call of Duty maker Activision to be bought by Microsoft

Microsoft's revised offer to buy Call of Duty-maker Activision Blizzard has been approved by UK regulators.

The Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said the updated bid had addressed concerns, after it blocked the original $69bn (£59bn) deal in April.

Microsoft will hand the rights to distribute Activision's games on consoles and PCs over the cloud to France's Ubisoft.

Despite approving the deal, however, the CMA criticised Microsoft.

After the competition watchdog blocked the takeover in April, Microsoft's president Brad Smith said it was "bad for Britain".

On Friday, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: "Businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA.

"Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn't work. Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money."

The CMA said the revised offer would "preserve competitive prices" in the gaming industry and provide more choice and better services.

"With the sale of Activision's cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we've made sure Microsoft can't have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market," Ms Cardell said.

Mr Smith said Microsoft was "grateful for the CMA's thorough review and decision".

He said the "final regulatory hurdle" had been crossed for the tech giant to complete the deal, while a spokesman for Activision Blizzard said the approved deal was "great news".

The deal marks a huge shift for the games industry. It further cements Microsoft as a video game giant, much to the consternation of its main rival Sony, owner of the PlayStation console.

Sony has strongly opposed this deal over concerns that big Activision titles like Call of Duty could become Xbox exclusives over time.

The PlayStation currently outsells Microsoft's Xbox but like all entertainment platforms, the key to success is access to the best content.

Sony is also not averse to buying up successful studios. But Activision Blizzard is in a league of its own, and Microsoft knows that.

Following eight years in development and much anticipation, another large studio called Bethesda finally launched its new game Starfield in 2023 - but only on Xbox and PC.

Who owns Bethesda? Microsoft.