Microsoft struck a deal to buy Activision Blizzard in early 2022, but has faced hurdles due to fears it would hinder competition in the video game industry. Photo: NurPhoto via AFP
New Zealand's Commerce Commission has given the green light for Microsoft to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft struck a $US69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard in early 2022, but has faced hurdles in the United States and the United Kingdom due to fears it would hinder competition in the video game industry.
Microsoft is a major player in the gaming sector and owns Xbox Game Studios, while Activision Blizzard owns popular titles including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot and Candy Crush.
If it clears all the necessary regulatory approvals across a number of countries, the deal would be the most expensive video game acquisition in history.
One of those competition regulators was the Commerce Commission, which on Tuesday announced it had given clearance for Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard.
The commission said in reaching its decision, it focused on the importance of Activision games to New Zealand gamers, and whether Microsoft would likely stop rivals such as Sony and NVIDIA from offering those games on consoles and on cloud platforms.
Commission chair John Small said it was satisfied the merger was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any New Zealand market.
"While Activision games, in particular Call of Duty, are popular with New Zealand gamers, our enquiries did not find that they are likely to be 'must have' in order to compete with Microsoft in New Zealand," he said.
Microsoft and Sony signed a 10-year agreement to ensure Call of Duty would remain available on Sony's Playstation last month.
However, the proposed takeover has faced significant hurdles in the UK and US.
The UK's competition regulator blocked the takeover earlier this year, with the decision currently going through an appeals process.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) withdrew a challenge to the merger last month, after a US appeals court denied the FTC's request to pause the deal.
The deal has already been approved in other key markets, including China, the European Union and Japan.