Microsoft wins case against FTC to acquire Activision Blizzard

One hurdle, cleared.

Microsoft and Xbox have won their case against the United States’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to acquire Activision Blizzard.

The decision means Microsoft can close its $69 billion USD acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but will still have to contend with a decision from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority about the merger.

“In December 2022, the FTC initiated an administrative action to block Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision – publisher of the first-person shooter video-game franchise Call of Duty, among other popular video games,” Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in their decision.

“The gist of the FTC’s complaint is that Call of Duty is so popular, and such an important supply for any video game platform, that the combined firm is probably going to foreclose it from its rivals for its own economic benefit to consumers’ detriment. Discovery in the administrative action has closed, and trial before an FTC judge is scheduled to commend on August 2, 2023.

“Four weeks ago, the FTC filed this action to preliminary enjoin the merge pending completion of the FTC administrative action. Because the merger has a July 18 termination date, expedited proceedings were commenced. After considering the parties’ voluminous pre-and-post hearing writing submissions, and having held a five-day evidentiary hearing, the court DENIES the motion for preliminary injunction. The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets.”

Microsoft, as you’d expect, was very happy with today’s decision.

“We’re grateful to the Court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith. “As we’ve demonstrated, consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns.”

“We’re grateful to the court for swiftly deciding in our favor. The evidence showed the Activision Blizzard deal is good for the industry and the FTC’s claims about console switching, multi-game subscription services, and cloud don’t reflect the realities of the gaming market,” added Xbox head Phil Spencer.

“Since we first announced this deal, our commitment to bringing more games to more people on more devices has only grown,” Spencer continued. “We’ve signed multiple agreements to make Activision Blizzard’s games, Xbox first party games and Game Pass all available to more players than they are today. We know that players around the world have been watching this case closely and I’m proud of our efforts to expand player access and choice throughout this journey.”

We’ll keep you informed as the situation progresses.