Enlarge / The FTC-reported filing would stop Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard more than its previous internally-fought lawsuit.
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A source has told Portal that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will file an injunction to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal.
The FTC had filed a lawsuit back in December to block the deal, arguing that Microsoft’s acquisition of the major games studio would allow the company to “take over competitors from its Xbox gaming consoles and its fast-growing subscription content and cloud gaming to suppress business”. In that filing, the FTC cited Microsoft’s prior acquisition of Bethesda Software’s parent company, Zenimax, and subsequent production of upcoming epic role-playing game Starfield exclusively for Windows and Xbox, despite prior statements by Microsoft to European antitrust authorities.
This case is still pending with an internal administrative judge, the hearing is scheduled for August. This process does not have the power to halt the deal entirely, a source familiar with the merger process told Ars Technica in January. The FTC is now asking for an injunction to prevent the deal from happening before the July 18 deadline, potentially voiding the deal and sending the companies back to the negotiating table.
“We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told CNBC. “We believe that accelerating the legal process in the United States will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the marketplace.”
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are also facing strong opposition from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which blocked the deal in April. The regulator was particularly concerned about the deal’s impact on the UK market for cloud-based gaming, something Microsoft has sought to appease by signing deals to offer library games for Nvidia’s GeForce Now and the more European-focused Boosteroid. Over the weekend, Microsoft announced Game Pass titles for PC will also be available on GeForce Now.
This post will be updated as the story progresses.