Microsoft seems ready to concede some ground to complete Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard to have the deal clear its current legal hurdles.

It appears there are still some hurdles Microsoft still needs to get over to complete Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, courtesy of the European Union, and the tech giant could now be willing to concede ground in order to close the deal. The tech giant has been working to complete the deal for nearly a year after announcing its intent to acquire the video game publisher, significantly growing Xbox Game Studios after acquiring multiple big-name studios, chief among them being Bethesda. While these acquisitions grew the library of Xbox exclusives, it seems Microsoft will need to give up some potential exclusivity to get the stamp of approval.

Microsoft originally announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022 for over $68 billion, potentially giving Microsoft ownership over some of gaming’s biggest properties including Call of Duty. It would also make Microsoft the biggest video game company in North America and the third biggest in the world behind Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent and Japanese giant Sony. It has faced its fair share of criticism, though, from U.S. Senators such as Bernie Sanders and across the games industry given the amount of power it would give Microsoft in the space. It has also faced heavy scrutiny from antitrust…