Japan Watchdog Approves Activision Blizzard Acquisition By Microsoft

The Japan Fair Trade Commission has reportedly closed its review of Microsoft's attempted purchase of Activision Blizzard, stating the deal won't suppress competition. In other words, another roadblock has been removed for Xbox to take the reins of Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft.

Reuters reports the Japan watchdog informed Microsoft and Activision Blizzard that it won't call for a cease and desist of the merger. This follows in the footsteps of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority determining that the deal won't stifle competition in the console space last week. The CMA does still have concerns about the area of cloud gaming with the acquisition.

The CMA also released mostly anonymous statements from game companies about the merger, with one organization saying Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard "can only be a good thing." Sony, however, definitely doesn't agree with that sentiment. The PlayStation company has voiced concerns that Microsoft could intentionally make Call of Duty worse on say PS5, for example.

The Federal Trade Commission in the US is still scrutinizing Microsoft's deal with Activision Blizzard, which is valued at almost $70 billion. The FTC wants more information on Xbox's future ZeniMax exclusivity, for instance, arguing that the company has gone back on its word to keep games multiplatform.

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