Xbox and Microsoft’s $69 Billion dollar deal did not go as smoothly as they planned. But after much time, Microsoft Finally won the FTC trials and can finally acquire Activision Blizzard.
Also, read – Diablo 4 is not Coming to Xbox Games Pass – Blizzard President Confirms
What are Microsoft FTC Trials?
The FTC or Federal Trade Commission wanted to prevent the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft and Xbox. This is the biggest industry acquisition to ever happen in any field and it was concerning. If the deal happens, their competitors will take the biggest hit. Microsoft Xbox and Activision Blizzard being the Behemoths in the industry will become ever bigger once they merge.
“The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion that 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,” Corley said.
After the merger, franchises like Call of Duty would become Xbox and PC exclusives which would be a really severe hit for other consoles such as the Playstation. This would have been really bad for business since it’s one of the best-selling games of all time. However, The court has made the judgment that Microsoft would have to sign an agreement that lets Sony and Nintendo release the games Call of Duty on their Platforms for the next 10 years.
On July 11, the judgment was made and district judge Jaqueline Scott Corley rejected the FTC’s justification. This means that FTC will not be granted the temporary injunction to stop the deal from proceeding in the interim as a result of this ruling. It is possible to challenge Corley’s ruling, but we are unsure if the FTC will.
The purchase was halted in the UK by the Competition & Markets Authority due to worries about the cloud gaming industry. The agreement can proceed, according to a decision made by the European Union.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement provided to GameSpot, “Our combination will benefit customers and employees. It will encourage competition rather than continue to let firmly established market leaders rule our quickly expanding industry.
