Key Points
The European Unions antitrust watchdog approved Microsofts planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, giving the two companies a win after the deal hit a regulatory roadblock in the U.K. ..
The European Commission, the blocs competition enforcer, said it cleared the deal based on commitments by Microsoft to make Activision games, including the popular Call of Duty" franchise, available to rival cloud-streaming companies..
The decision comes weeks after the U.K. regulator rejected the merger, saying it would crimp competition in the countrys gaming market..
To resolve those issues, the commission said it accepted Microsofts proposed remedy of giving free licenses to Activisions games for 10 years to rival cloud-gaming distributors serving consumers in the European Economic Area, which includes the EU and three non-EU countries..
Over recent months, Microsoft offered commitments including making future installments of the Call of Duty" and in some cases other Activision games equally accessible to rival console makers and cloud-gaming companies over a 10-year period..
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