You are here

Topic: activision

Arguing for the government on Tuesday in its legal fight against Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy game maker Activision Blizzard, Harvard economist Robin Lee struggled at times to plainly demonstrate how the planned deal would hurt gamers. News 

Microsoft Analyzes US Legal Argument Against Acquisition of Activision

Adriana Marais,

During the government’s legal battle against Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, Harvard economist Robin Lee faced challenges in clearly illustrating the negative impact the deal would have on gamers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal judge to temporarily halt the deal so an internal judge at the agency can decide whether it can proceed. However, the losing party in federal court often concedes and the in-house process does not proceed. Microsoft’s lawyer pressed Lee for details of his analysis of potential market share…

Read More
Playstation 6 and new Xbox consoles set for 2028 release, as per court documents. (Representative Image) (REUTERS) News 

Court Documents Suggest PlayStation 6 and Next-Gen Xbox to Launch in 2028

Febin Mathew, , ,

In India, Sony’s Playstation consoles have gained a large following due to their impressive gaming features. Although the PS5 is still a favorite among gamers, court documents obtained by IGN indicate that the next iterations of Playstation and Xbox consoles could potentially be released as soon as 2028. In a lawsuit over Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard in a US court, the tech giant said it expects the next generation of game consoles to be officially released in 2028. This prediction indicates that successors to the current generation, including the…

Read More
Microsoft’s main goal in acquiring Activision, which also offers mobile titles like Candy Crush, is to expand its share of the global mobile gaming market, which is currently about 0.3%. (REUTERS) News 

Microsoft Reveals Sony Unconcerned About Activision Partnership

Adriana Marais, , ,

Microsoft Corp. has initiated its legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. for $69 billion. The company argued that a Sony Corp. executive had acknowledged that the deal was not intended to harm the PlayStation gaming console’s exclusivity. The FTC wants to block the deal while its legal challenge is pending, with both sides arguing the case in a five-day court hearing that began Thursday in San Francisco. Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox console, is defending a blockbuster deal that would make…

Read More
Activision is focusing on on future Call of Duty content instead. Gaming 

“September Shutdown for ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’ Battle Royale”

Adriana Marais, ,

Activision has announced that the original free-to-play battle royale game, Call of Duty: Warzone (now referred to as Warzone Caldera), will be permanently shut down on September 21st. This decision has been made to enable developers to concentrate on upcoming Call of Duty content, including the current free-to-play experience of Warzone (previously known as Warzone 2.0), according to a blog post by Activision. All games, player progression, inventory and online services will expire on that day. However, any Caldera content purchased in Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, or Vanguard…

Read More
An alleged internal Microsoft email, which is evidence in a lawsuit in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court, suggests that one of the intentions behind Microsoft's bid to acquire Activision-Blizzard is“ to put its main competition, the Sony PlayStation, out of the market.” News 

Lawyers Claim Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard Could Threaten Sony PlayStation

Adriana Marais, , , ,

According to a purported internal email from Microsoft, which is being used as evidence in a lawsuit in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court, the company’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is aimed at eliminating its primary rival, the Sony PlayStation, from the market. As reported by Axios, an alleged email sent in 2019 by Microsoft head of Xbox game studios Matt Booty to Xbox CFO Tim Stuart predated Microsoft’s announcement to buy Activision-Blizzard. Axios notes that “the passage appears to be from Exhibit K,” a “sealed document that the players’ lawyers and…

Read More
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick are among the witnesses planned for a fiveday evidentiary hearing set to begin this week on the Federal Trade Commission's legal bid to block the deal, according to a court filing on Tuesday. News 

Witnesses for FTC’s Opposition to Microsoft-Activision Merger to Include Company CEOs

Adriana Marais, ,

According to a court filing on Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick are scheduled to testify during a five-day evidentiary hearing this week regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to prevent the deal from going through. The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent Microsoft from completing its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft has argued that if the court grants the injunction, it would kill the deal, which has a termination date of July 18 and includes a $3 billion termination fee…

Read More
Time is running out on a deadline for Microsoft to complete its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, compelling the companies to ask a U.S. judge on Wednesday to quickly get the ball rolling on the Federal Trade Commission's legal bid to block the deal. News 

Microsoft and Activision Seek Accelerated Timeline in FTC Dispute

Adriana Marais,

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are racing against the clock to finalize their $69 billion merger as the deadline approaches. To expedite the process, the companies have requested a U.S. judge to accelerate the Federal Trade Commission’s legal challenge to the acquisition. On Tuesday, US District Judge Edward Davila had set the 22nd-23rd. to San Francisco for an evidentiary hearing in June and temporarily blocked the companies from completing the deal until another judge in the same court rules on whether to grant a preliminary injunction. The hearing will focus on…

Read More
A U.S. judge late on Tuesday granted the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request to temporarily block Microsoft Corp's acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard and set a hearing next week. News 

Federal Judge Halts Microsoft’s Purchase of Activision

Adriana Marais,

Late on Tuesday, a U.S. judge approved the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request to temporarily halt Microsoft Corp’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, a video game manufacturer, and scheduled a hearing for next week. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila scheduled a two-day evidentiary hearing on the FTC’s preliminary injunction request for 22-23. June to San Francisco. Without the court ruling, Microsoft could have closed the $69 billion deal as early as Friday. The FTC, which oversees antitrust laws, asked an administrative judge to block the deal in early December. Evidence processing…

Read More
This is on top of a lawsuit also meant to prevent the merger. Gaming 

FTC to Take Legal Action to Prevent Microsoft from Acquiring Activision Blizzard

Adriana Marais, , , ,

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…

Read More
Microsoft's president met Britain's finance minister for talks on Tuesday and said he would try to work with regulators to seek UK approval for its $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. News 

Microsoft President and UK Finance Minister Discuss Activision Takeover Block

Adriana Marais, , ,

On Tuesday, Microsoft’s president held discussions with Britain’s finance minister and expressed his intention to collaborate with regulators in order to obtain UK authorization for the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the creator of “Call of Duty,” which is valued at $69 billion. Britain’s competition authorities blocked the takeover in April in a shock decision that puts the games’ biggest-ever deal at risk, prompting a furious response from two groups that questioned whether the country was still open to tech companies. Microsoft has since appealed, and its president Brad Smith…

Read More
Microsoft is challenging Britain's decision to block its $69 billion takeover of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard on the grounds of "fundamental errors" in the assessment of Microsoft's cloud gaming services. News 

Microsoft Sets Ground for Activision Appeal Against UK Regulator

Adriana Marais, , ,

Microsoft is challenging a UK decision to block its $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard on the grounds of “fundamental flaws” in the valuation of Microsoft’s cloud gaming services. Britain’s anti-trust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), vetoed the deal in April, saying it could harm competition in the nascent cloud gaming market, sparking a furious row. Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it had filed an appeal against the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decision, and published a summary of its arguments on Friday. It…

Read More
The Federal Trade Commission moved to block Microsoft’s $69 billion bid to buy "Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard in December News 

The USA files a lawsuit against Call of Duty Maker Activision Blizzard

Febin Mathew,

The US Department of Justice has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), alleging anti-competitive conduct by one of the world’s largest video game developers and publishers. “Video games and esports are among the most popular and fastest-growing forms of entertainment in the world today, and professional esports players — like all employees — deserve the benefits of competition for their services. Activision’s actions prevented that from happening,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s antitrust division. “Today’s lawsuit makes it clear that the…

Read More
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company behind the popular game 'Call of Duty', will not pose a threat to competition in the gaming console market, UK regulators said - clearing a significant hurdle for the $69 billion deal. News 

UK ditches antitrust rules from Microsoft-Activision deal, but remains wary of impact on cloud gaming market

Adriana Marais, , , , , ,

LONDON: Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard would not harm competition in game consoles, Britain’s competition watchdog said, removing a major hurdle to the deal. In its findings based on new evidence, the Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday that it would not make economic sense for Microsoft to make “Call of Duty” exclusive to its Xbox console and instead would still have an incentive to keep the game available for PlayStation. However, the regulator said it was still reviewing the deal’s impact on…

Read More
Bharti Airtel said in a statement: "We wish to categorically deny this baseless accusation. (REUTERS) News 

Reliance Jio files complaint with regulator about Airtel, Vi

Febin Mathew, ,

The telecommunications division of Reliance Industries Ltd has called on India’s telecommunications regulator to take action against rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd for allegedly carrying out a bogus propaganda campaign to attract its subscribers. In a letter dated December 10, Reliance Jio alleged that the two companies gave the impression that Reliance – which also runs retail operations – would stand to gain from three new farm laws introduced by the Indian government in September. . “We once again draw your kind attention to the fact that as…

Read More
FILE PHOTO: The Activision booth is featured at E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, United States, June 13, 2017. REUTERS / Mike Blake (REUTERS) News 

Activision sues Netflix over hiring of former CFO

Sanjay Patil,

Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. sued Netflix Inc., claiming that the video streaming service was engaged in a year-long campaign of illegal executive poaching, including hiring its former chief financial officer. Activision claims that Netflix interfered with the contact of the executive, Spencer Neumann, by offering to pay him up front to cover his legal fees. Netflix is shamelessly recruiting talent without regard to its ethical and legal obligations, Activision said in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles state court Friday. Activision is suing for intentional interference, unfair competition…

Read More