Microsoft Is Being Sued By The FTC Over Its Attempts To Buy Activision Blizzard
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A new potential block appears for Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard as the FTC sue the company over concerns about Call of Duty’s future.
Back in January 2022, Microsoft announced a deal to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. While such a deal was accepted by Activision shareholders in April, the deal has faced numerous roadblocks to being accepted. With several worldwide regulatory bodies examining the deal, the FTC is the first to move against the deal with such an impact. In the lawsuit filed, the FTC offer their concerns that the acquisition would suppress competition by keeping even more high-value IP locked to the Xbox ecosystem.
The statement given by the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, Holly Vedova, says, “Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals. Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”
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The major point of contention is Microsoft’s previous acquisition of ZeniMax Media, which allowed them to acquire Bethesda Softworks and such IPs as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. During the acquisition, there had been no outright statement to say that all future games would become Xbox exclusive. At least not until after the acquisition had been confirmed. While all current commitments to release on other platforms would be honoured, Microsoft stated that all future Bethesda games would be Xbox exclusive.
While at present Microsoft has offered a 10-year deal on new Call of Duty games – a deal which was also given to both Nintendo and Valve – Sony has yet to accept. Such an offer doesn’t seem to be enough to convince the FTC that Microsoft will play fair, despite assurances from Microsoft that this acquisition is for the benefit of the gaming community on both developer and player sides.
Within a tweet, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, says, “We have been committed 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.”
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