While we wait for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard to get approved in the UK, today it's been announced the deal has been given the green light in New Zealand.
This was officially passed by the Commerce Commission of New Zealand - meaning Team Xbox has now been granted clearance to acquire "100% of the common stock of Activision Blizzard". The vice chair and president of Microsoft Brad Smith shared the following statement on social media - noting how the deal was able to move forward in 41 countries:
"With today’s approval from New Zealand, we’re cleared to move forward with our acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 41 countries. We will continue to work to resolve outstanding concerns and bring this deal to a close."
In the New Zealand Commerce Commission's official statement, it said it considered "whether Microsoft would be likely to stop rivals like Sony and NVIDIA" from offering games like Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft "on consoles and on cloud platforms" and said it was "unlikely to substantially lessen competition" in any market in this region.
Here's a statement from commission chair Dr John Small. A public version of "the written reasons for the decision" will also be made available on the case register.
“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.”