Yesterday, the EU confirmed that it was in favour of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard, so long as the former company held true to its promises that games would appear on other major platforms and cloud gaming services.
Now, the CMA, which previously blocked the deal, and an Activision Blizzard executive have weighed in on this response from the EU. The CMA is holding firm, as you might expect, staring in a thread on Twitter that the merger would "harm competition in cloud gaming."
The CMA also argued that Microsoft's current proposals would "allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years." Whether you believe this is true or not, it's the line of argument the CMA is going to stick with, at least for the foreseeable future.
<social>https://twitter.com/CMAgovUK/status/1658131200181952516</social>
Outspoken Activision Blizzard executive Lulu Cheng Meservey was content with the EU's decision. Again, this isn't surprising, as Cheng was clearly frustrated with the CMA's decision. She wrote on Twitter: "Today the European Commission approved our merger with Microsoft (subject to strict remedies) to ensure robust competition continues in our rapidly growing industry... with the EU's firm yet pragmatic, unbiased, and fact-driven approach to regulation, we expect these European teams to continue delivering growth and innovation going forward."
<social>https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1658139416945217537</social>
What do you think of the EU's decision?