The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is trying through the courts to block Microsoft’s deal to acquire the major gaming company Activision Blizzard. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8, after weeks of wrangling between Microsoft, Sony and regulators over potential competition issues and the future of Call of Duty.

The FTC said the deal would allow Microsoft to “suppress competitors with its fast-growing subscription content game console and cloud gaming business.” UK and EU regulators are also scrutinizing the deal, despite repeated attempts by Microsoft to reassure them.

“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will hide content from its gaming rivals. We seek to prevent a company from gaining control of a leading independent game studio and using it to engage in anti-competitive practices in many dynamic gaming markets.”

Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition

“The agreement will increase competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers. From day one, we have been committed to addressing competition issues, including by offering certain concessions to the FTC earlier this week. Although we hoped for a peaceful solution, we will be able to defend ourselves in court, as we are quite confident in our case.”

Brad Smith, VP and President of Microsoft

Any united since day one to addressing competition concerns, including by offering earlier this week proposed concessions to the FTC. While we believe in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present it in court.

— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) December 8, 2022

The company’s vice president of communications, Frank Shaw, also posted on Twitter a link to a document titled: “Get the facts straight: How Microsoft is committed to growing gaming communities.”

Course

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Attracting new and retaining existing customers with wow service is possible! Go ahead and learn more.

REGISTER!

sharing this for overall context. ?

— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) December 8, 2022

In a letter to employees, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotyk said he wanted to “reinforce their confidence” that the acquisition would close.

“The allegation that this deal is anti-competitive is not true, and we believe we will win this challenge,” he said.

The company also released an internal email written by Jeb Boatman, Activision’s senior vice president of litigation, regulatory and public policy law, outlining their position on consent.

Last month, in response to Sony’s claims, Microsoft offered the company a 10-year deal under which each new Call of Duty release would be available on PlayStation the same day it was released on Xbox. But Sony has yet to accept the offer. A similar deal has already been made between Nintendo and Valve – if Activision Blizzard’s purchase is approved, Call of Duty could be released on Nintendo consoles.

“Sony turned out to be the loudest opponent,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith recently in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced an in-depth investigation into the takeover. Microsoft called the CMA’s concerns “misplaced” and accused the regulator of accepting Sony’s complaints “without considering the potential harm to consumers”. The European Commission also started its in-depth investigation at the beginning of November – it will last 90 working days until March 23, after which a decision will be made.

The European Commission will investigate Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion until March 23

Source: The Verge