The Japan Fair Trade Commission has given the green light for Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition to go ahead, saying the deal would not substantially harm competition.
Following the CMA’s recent announcement that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard would not lessen competition in the UK console gaming market, Microsoft has chalked up another win, this time in Japan. The Japan Fair Trade Commission has now approved the merger to go ahead in the country.
Xbox Activision Blizzard deal gets green light in Japan
The Japan Fair Trade Commission said that after reviewing evidence and submissions from third parties surrounding the deal, the acquisition “would not substantially restrain competition in certain fields of trade” and that a “cease and desist order would not be issued.”
While it’s good news from the UK and Japan, the takeover is still under heavy scrutiny from regulators in Europe and the United States. While the UK’s CMA has said the deal “will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK,” the CMA is still investigating concerns surrounding the cloud gaming market and the acquisition.
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