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Microsoft, Activision to Sell Streaming to Secure Biggest Video Gaming Deal

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Microsoft, Activision to Sell Streaming to Secure Biggest Video Gaming Deal

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

"Call of Duty" maker Activision will sell its non-European streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment to get the biggest deal yet in video-gaming past British regulators, potential owner Microsoft said on Tuesday.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the only regulator to block Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, in a test of its post-Brexit clout, Reuters said.
Microsoft said on Tuesday it believed its new proposal was a "substantially different transaction" and that it expected the CMA review process to be completed before Oct. 18.
The CMA in a statement said the revised transaction would "allow Ubisoft to commercialize these rights to other cloud gaming services providers (including to Microsoft itself)".
Ubisoft's shares listed in Paris were up 6.5% at 0723 GMT, making them the top gainer on the pan European STOXX 600 index.
The British regulator in July took the rare step of reopening its investigation into the deal after Microsoft said commitments accepted by the European Union and a new agreement with Sony constituted a material change.
But it said on Tuesday it did not accept Microsoft's reasoning, forcing the US giant to come back with a new deal to address its concerns over competition in the nascent cloud streaming market.
Under the new terms, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.
The new transaction deals with streaming rights outside the European Economic Area, reflecting the fact that Brussels had already approved the deal.
Ubisoft will, however, receive a non-exclusive license for Activision's European gaming rights too, enabling the French group to also stream the rights in the EU.

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US May Target Samsung, Hynix, TSMC Operations in China

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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US May Target Samsung, Hynix, TSMC Operations in China

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

The US Department of Commerce is considering revoking authorizations granted in recent years to global chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC, making it more difficult for them to receive US goods and technology at their plants in China, according to people familiar with the matter.

The chances of the United States withdrawing the authorizations are unclear. But with such a move, it would be harder for foreign chipmakers to operate in China, where they produce semiconductors used in a wide range of industries, Reuters said.

A White House official said the United States was "just laying the groundwork" in case the truce reached between the two countries fell apart. But the official expressed confidence that the trade agreement would go forward and that rare earths would flow from China, as agreed.

"There is currently no intention of deploying this tactic," the official said. "It's another tool we want in our toolbox in case either this agreement falls through or any other catalyst throws a wrench in bilateral relations."

Shares of US chip equipment makers that supply plants in China fell when the Wall Street Journal first reported the news earlier on Friday. KLA Corp dropped 2.4%, Lam Research fell 1.9% and Applied Materials sank 2%. Shares of Micron, a major competitor to Samsung and SK Hynix in the memory chip sector, rose 1.5%.

A TSMC spokesman declined comment. Samsung and Hynix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials did not immediately respond, either.

In October 2022, after the United States placed sweeping restrictions on US chipmaking equipment to China, it gave foreign manufacturers like Samsung and Hynix letters authorizing them to receive goods.

In 2023 and 2024, the companies received what is known as Validated End User status in order to continue the trade.

A company with VEU status is able to receive designated goods from a US company without the supplier obtaining multiple export licenses to ship to them. VEU status enables entities to receive US-controlled products and technologies "more easily, quickly and reliably," as the Commerce Department website puts it.

The VEU authorizations come with conditions, a person familiar with the matter said, including prohibitions on certain equipment and reporting requirements.

“Chipmakers will still be able to operate in China," a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement when asked about the possible revocations. "The new enforcement mechanisms on chips mirror licensing requirements that apply to other semiconductor companies that export to China and ensure the United States has an equal and reciprocal process.”

Industry sources said that if it became more difficult for US semiconductor equipment companies to ship to foreign multinationals, it would only help domestic Chinese competitors.

"It’s a gift," one said.