FTC to Take Legal Action to Prevent Microsoft from Acquiring Activision Blizzard
According to a source from CNBC, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is said to be preparing to file for an injunction to stop the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger before the July 18th deadline. The FTC is already suing to block the acquisition, but this new move would prevent the deal from closing as planned.
We’ve reached out to the FTC and Microsoft for comment. Microsoft tells CNBC that the ban will bring the case before a federal judge earlier. In previous statements, Microsoft has played down the deal, insisting that Activision Blizzard does not have “must have” games. It even suggests that Sony has higher quality exclusives. However, the FTC points out that Activision is one of the few giant game publishers that release major games across platforms.
The lawsuit will go before the FTC’s own administrative law judge in August. This official makes a decision that can be appealed to the commission for a vote. If the agency votes against the merger, Microsoft can appeal in federal court to challenge the outcome.
The reported ban comes weeks after Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority announced it was blocking the $68.7 billion purchase. The regulator fears that Microsoft could buy its way into a monopoly in the young cloud gaming space, giving it as much as a 70 percent market share. Microsoft has tried to allay these fears by striking deals with game streaming providers to add titles to their services. The tech giant has also tried to address fears of Call of Duty Xbox exclusivity by promising multi-platform releases for a decade.
Microsoft has had some success with the proposed merger. For example, the European Union gave the agreement a green light. However, the company clearly needs the support of the US and the UK to move forward, and there is no guarantee that it will be able to make concessions that will satisfy regulators in those countries.
