Today Xbox Corporate Vice President of Game Creator Experience & Ecosystem Sarah Bond commented on the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
Bond took to Twitter to thank the community for its support and advocacy during the long ordeal that has now lasted more than a year, calling it "epic." She added that Microsoft is encouraged by the approval by the vast majority of regulators that have expressed their ruling so far, and continues constructive dialog to move forward.
She also mentioned that staying constructive and respectful of everyone involved is key to Microsoft's vision of bringing all gamers together. You can find the full message below.
The Xbox community support & advocacy for the ABK acquisition is epic. We may not always agree with outcomes - but we're encouraged almost 40 countries have approved, and are continuing constructive dialog to move forward. Staying positive & respectful of all involved is key to realizing our vision of bringing everyone who loves to play, together. Thank you.
Recently, the European Union approved the deal including proposed remedies to level the competitive playing field on the cloud market, which Microsoft agreed to. A couple of weeks ago, we learned that the deal was approved by the Chinese authority, while earlier this week, South Korea's regulator also cleared the deal, bringing the number of countries that officially cleared the acquisition to 38.
This leaves the British CMA isolated in its stance against the deal (followed by an appeal from Microsoft including some rather firm rebuttals of the ruling), with the American FTC matching its opposition, but having to go through a legal process to actually be able to block it. The hearing for the appeal against the CMA doesn't have a firm date yet, but the two weeks between July 24 and August 7 have been written down in "heavy pencil" by the presiding Judge.
In the meanwhile, a judge of the United States District Court Northern District of California denied the preliminary injunction requested against Microsoft in the so-called "gamers' lawsuit" which also aims to prevent the acquisition.
In an interview published yesterday, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick mentioned that Microsoft is “by far the best place" for the publisher, adding that the acquisition is "the right thing for the industry."
