While the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has received a significant blow due to the denial by the British CMA, the house of Xbox appears to be undeterred and is continuing to strike the iron while it's hot.
Today, a new cloud-focused 10-year deal was announced with European provider Nware, which definitely sounds like a direct message to the European competition authority.
Microsoft and European cloud gaming platform Nware have signed a 10-year agreement to stream PC games built by Xbox on its platform, as well as Activision Blizzard titles after the acquisition closes. While it's still early for the emerging cloud segment in gaming, this new partnership combined with our other recent commitments will make more popular games available on more cloud game streaming services than they are today.
Interestingly, the announcement reads "after" the acquisition closes, not "if." Microsoft has displayed confidence over the past few days, and apparently, the company doesn't intend to just roll over in response to the CMA's ruling.
Speaking of rulings, the Ukrainian antitrust authority also has just published its own, clearing the deal. It's worth mentioning that Microsoft does not operate its cloud services in Ukraine, so the concerns expressed by the CMA and by the European antitrust authority are not relevant to the country.
That being said, at least for now the CMA remains isolated in its ruling against the deal, with the American FTC matching its opposition, but having to go through legal process to actually be able to block it.
Lately, Microsoft announced deals with Nintendo, Nvidia, Boosteroid, Ubitus, and more, publicly showcasing its willingness to bring its games to as many users as possible following the proposed acquisition of Activision and its subsidiaries, in contrast with objections Sony, which has been very active in trying to block the deal over the past few months. The house of PlayStation has appeared to be completely against the perspective of negotiating a deal of its own, which Microsoft has publicly offered.