Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard was dealt a body blow last month as the UK's CMA blocked the deal, largely due to issues it has with Xbox potentially dominating the cloud gaming market. The European Commission doesn't appear to have those same qualms as the governing body has approved the deal, a potential stumbling block seemingly overcome by Xbox offering ten-year partnerships pertaining to cloud gaming to a number of companies and studios should the merger be allowed to happen.
The statement from the European Commission, as reported by The Verge, reveals the EU has no reason to believe Xbox would pull Activision Blizzard games from PlayStation should the merger go ahead. Sony has been vocal in its stance against the deal being approved, largely because it's fearful Call of Duty will become an Xbox exclusive should that be allowed to happen.
In fact, the European Commission's comments state that even if Microsoft were to pull the Activision rug out from under PlayStation's feet, it doesn't believe doing so would significantly harm competition. Xbox has continually tried to assure its rival console provider that won't happen by offering it a ten-year deal similar to the one it has pre-emptively put in place with Nintendo.
Much like the UK, the biggest issue the European Commission has with the acquisition is Xbox's aforementioned hold on cloud gaming. An arena it already has a large stake in and will inevitably improve upon should it bring Activision Blizzard under the Xbox umbrella. As part of the decade-long deals signed with various parties, Microsoft will need to ensure consumers in all EU countries will be able to stream through any cloud gaming services they choose. Xbox's aforementioned deals already seem to have most, if not all, of those bases covered. Cloud providers must also be allowed to stream Activision Blizzard games in all EU markets.
The European Commission's vice president has effectively confirmed via their own statement that Microsoft's deals with various streaming platforms are what led to the merger being approved. "The commitments offered by Microsoft will enable for the first time the streaming of such games in any cloud game streaming services, enhancing competition and opportunities for growth," the VP said, so effectively the opposite of what the CMA believes will happen if this deal is allowed to go through.
The CMA became the first organization to block the deal last month, throwing a significant wrench into Xbox and Activision Blizzard's plans. The parties are in the process of appealing the decision, but it remains unclear how long that process will take. It's believed if the UK stands firm on its decision, the deal will be blocked for up to ten years.