![]() “Microsoft’s proposals, accepted by the European Commission today, would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years,” said Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive. ![]() The CMA said it stood by its decision to block the deal. She added: “The commitments offered by Microsoft will enable for the first time the streaming of such games in any cloud game streaming services, enhancing competition and opportunities for growth.” The EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said the decision would bring Activision’s games to “many more devices and consumers than before thanks to cloud game streaming”. The compromise involves Microsoft offering free licences over a 10-year period allowing European consumers who purchase Activision PC and console games to stream them on other cloud gaming services. However, the commission said on Monday it had accepted Microsoft’s proposed remedies. It was concerned that if gamers could stream Call of Duty only via a Windows-exclusive streaming service then they may be less likely to switch to other operating systems such as Mac OS or Linux. The commission’s preliminary investigation had found that the deal could harm competition in cloud gaming, which allows users to stream video games stored on remote servers on to their devices, and in the supply of rival PC operating systems. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US has also come out against the takeover and is suing to block it. The approval by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, will revive Microsoft’s hopes for the deal as it prepares to appeal against the CMA’s decision. ![]()
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