The European Union’s competition regulator delayed ruling on the Xbox-Activision deal after Microsoft proposed remedies to its concerns, according to a new report from Reuters. The commission will now make its decision by May 22, 2023.
The EU filed a report saying Microsoft offered a set of potential actions that would help allay fears of harming competition in the games sector and cloud-based gaming.
The news comes after Xbox announced multiple deals with partners ranging from Nintendo and Nvidia to lesser-known platforms, such as Boosteroid. These agreements guaranteed, among other things, access to and content parity for Call of Duty and access to Xbox Game Pass games on non-Xbox cloud platforms, though the EU filing didn’t mention whether these were the remedies that convinced the EU to delay its ruling.
Sources with knowledge of the situation previously suggested the EU planned to permit the deal without requiring Microsoft to make any concessions. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has, so far, been the only regulatory body to suggest blocking the deal unless Microsoft sold off parts of Activision Blizzard – something Microsoft said it wouldn’t even consider.
The CMA is still expected to issue its ruling sometime in April. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block the deal is ongoing.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF