Microsoft’s Activision acquisition is reportedly set to avoid another EU probe

Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is reportedly set to avoid another approvals process by the European Commission.

That’s according to anonymous Bloomberg sources, who said the EU has decided not to further investigate the recently restructured deal.

Microsoft revised the deal after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority blocked it in April due to concerns about its impact on the nascent cloud gaming market.

In a bid to allay these concerns, the Xbox maker agreed to sell Ubisoft cloud gaming rights outside the European Economic Area for all Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years.

The CMA announced last month that it had provisionally agreed to allow the deal, and a final decision clearing the transaction is now expected to arrive in the next week.

While the deal appears likely to be completed imminently, Microsoft is still facing legal issues in the US. The Federal Trade Commission recently confirmed plans to proceed with its in-house challenge to the deal, even if this takes place after its closed.

Activision Blizzard said this week that if the deal goes through, it expects to start adding its titles to Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service in 2024.