The EU on Monday gave the green light to Microsoft's $69-billion takeover bid for U.S. video game giant Activision Blizzard, just weeks after the British competition regulator blocked the deal, putting it at risk.
The deal is also under threat in the U.S. giant's homeland, where last year the Federal Trade Commission launched a legal action to block it, one of Washington's biggest-ever interventions to stop tech industry consolidation.
Xbox owner Microsoft launched its gigantic bid for Activision Blizzard early last year to create the world's third-biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony, provoking antitrust concerns.
Activision Blizzard's hit titles include "Candy Crush" and "World of Warcraft." If it goes ahead, it will be the biggest deal ever in gaming if it goes through.
The European Commission, the bloc's powerful antitrust authority, said the approval was "conditional on full compliance with the commitments offered by Microsoft."
"The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming compared to the current situation," it added in a statement.
The European Commission said that if Microsoft lives up to its promises, it will allow gamers to stream Activision's titles on any cloud gaming streaming services operating in Europe.
"The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services," Microsoft vice chair Brad Smith said.
"This will apply globally and empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose."
But, unless Microsoft wins an appeal against the block by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month, experts say it will be game over for the bid.
The CMA blocked the bid over concerns it could kill competition in the fast-growing cloud gaming market and lead to less choice for British gamers in the future.
"If Microsoft does not win the appeal in the CAT, it cannot proceed with the acquisition even if the European Commission now approves it," said Anne Witt, a professor of antitrust law at EDHEC business school in France.
"Unless, of course, Microsoft decides to leave the U.K. market. But that seems unlikely," she told Agence France-Presse (AFP) earlier this year.
If a regulator in one country does not approve a takeover, the merged company cannot operate in that market.
While Britain is a smaller market than the EU and the U.S., millions use Microsoft products, including its ubiquitous Windows operating system.
This is the first major split decision between regulators in the EU and Britain since the U.K.'s exit from the bloc at the start of 2021. Japan has already approved the acquisition, and a legal process still challenges the merger in the U.S.
Technology firms, including Microsoft, want a slice of the growing demand for "cloud gaming" as gamers move away from physical consoles to subscriptions and virtual access, allowing users to play games over mobile phones and tablets.
However, the CMA pointed out that Microsoft already accounts for between 60% and 70% of cloud gaming services.
Microsoft has insisted to regulators that the merger will not hurt competition, promising it would give access to Activision's games to 150 million more people.
It has already agreed with deals to bring "Call of Duty" to the Nintendo console and cloud game streaming services offered by Nvidia, Boosteroid and Ubitus.
Sony has alleged that the deal will allow Microsoft to limit rivals' access to the popular franchise. Still, in Monday's decision, Brussels said that Microsoft "would have no incentive to refuse to distribute Activision's games to Sony."
Microsoft's commitments that eased the EU's fears include a free license to European users to stream, via any cloud game streaming services, all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games for which they have a permit.
"In such a fast-growing and dynamic industry, it is crucial to protect competition and innovation. Our decision represents an important step in this direction," EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said.
Last year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a suit to block the takeover, alleging that Microsoft had previously acquired smaller gaming companies to take the games exclusively.
