Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard gets unconditional approval in Serbia

CTOnews.com November 29 news, Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been unconditionally approved in Serbia, after the deal has been approved in Saudi Arabia, Brazil.

Serbia has joined Saudi Arabia and Brazil in approving the $68.7 billion deal, which is currently under review by global antitrust regulators, Reuters reported. Reuters also claimed Microsoft could soon make concessions to EU regulators to help push the deal forward.

CTOnews.com understands that resistance to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is currently dominated by competitive issues with the Call of Duty series, and Sony has expressed opposition to the deal. If approved, the all-cash acquisition would be the largest and most expensive deal in the history of the tech industry.

The European Commission has previously stated that "it is critical to ensure that the gaming ecosystem remains vibrant and beneficial to users of this fast-growing industry." We must ensure that future and existing PC and console video game distributors, as well as PC OS competitors, remain open. "The agency needs to decide by March 23, 2023 whether to approve the deal.