Microsoft won the fight to acquire Activision Blizzard in the United States. The court case involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) injunction ended in Microsoft’s favor. It filed a complaint back in December 2022, citing concerns about a monopoly that could damage competing companies like Sony or Nintendo by making new releases exclusives. The FTC will have until July 14, 2023 to file an appeal. [Thanks, The Verge!]
The Verge shared the statement from Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley following the ruling denying the FTC injunction against the Microsoft Activision Blizzard acquisition. Part of it noted Microsoft’s commitment to continue to bring Call of Duty games to other platforms, with the entries heading to the Switch and remaining on PlayStation consoles for 10 years. Corley said FTC didn’t provide enough of a likelihood this would happen and denied the injunction.
However, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began investigating the Microsoft and Activision acquisition back in July 2022 and blocked it in May 2023. The appeal hearing for that is July 28, 2023, which is after the deal’s July 18, 2023 termination date. If it isn’t closed by that ate, Microsoft would need to pay $3 billion. However, it is possible the companies could close the deal in other regions before then.
