Are you a superstitious one? You know, avoiding walking under ladders, keeping clear from black cats, and well, twitching at the mention of Friday the 13th? Well, seems like the big bosses at Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are a rather brave lot. According to the latest sauce--uh, source, these tech wizards are set on casting their lot on October 13, the infamous Friday. From The Verge's exclusive birdie, we got buzzed that the D-day for sealing the colossal Activision Blizzard deal is set, all caution (and superstition) thrown to the windy world of gaming.
Back in summers, when the sun was high, Microsoft and Activision agreed to keep their chessboard out till October 18th. They extended their playtime so they could flick away any annoying regulatory pawns that dared to stand in their way. As of now, that looming deadline is just a dozen days away, so our gaming goliaths better make their moves fast. Yet, Microsoft's law warriors still need to parry a few more legal sword-thrusts before they can take a breather.
After re-decorating the merger terms to pass Ubisoft the 'stream Activision Blizzard games in the UK' baton, the 'Competition and Markets Authority' tossed them a preliminary thumbs-up. Still, the sphere-headed authority needs to offer its final sage judgement before October 18th. Understandably, both the power players Microsoft and Activision Blizzard felt like taking a victory lap.
In the words of our very own Brad Smith (@BradSmi), "We are encouraged by this positive development in the CMA’s review process." Seems like they have got their game-changing solutions zipped up to cover the CMA's remaining concerns. Now, all that's left is to clear the final hurdle and cross the finish line before the October 18 deadline game-over whistles.
After the rumbling in July, when both titans managed to pin down the Federal Trade Commission, the final deal might well be in for a home run. A saga that began two winters ago seems to be nearing its epic climax, punctuated by spilled beans about a hybrid console, a shiny new Xbox model and grand plans to absorb other gaming goliaths like Sega and Bungie into the Microsoft realm. We bet Microsoft is eager to drop the final curtain on this saga and refocus on what it does best- creating gaming magic.
So, how is your inter-gaming-politics pulse rate? Excited, concerned or couldn't care less? Let us know in the comments and keep those thumbs warmed up!
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