The soap opera of the redemption ofActivision Blizzard by Microsoft is still not finished, a year and a half after the two companies reached an agreement. Many international competition authorities have indeed wanted to put their noses in this acquisition, well helped by sony who fears for the future of call of duty and its big bucks on consoles playstation. And if the European Commission validated the takeover, the Competition and Markets Authority British and the Federal Trade Commission United States have temporarily blocked the operation, pending responses to their concerns from Microsoft.
On the other hand, it seems that the problem is solved on the side of the FTC. The judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has indeed studied the file And the request for a preliminary injunction from the US competition authority was found to be unfounded. Unless the Federal Trade Commission appealed by the weekend, there will be no further judgment and Microsoft will be able to redeem Activision Blizzard worry-free in the United States.
“The responsibility of this Court in this matter is narrow,” reads the conclusion of Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s decision. “The question is whether, notwithstanding the current circumstances, the merger should be halted — perhaps even terminated — pending resolution of the FTC’s administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds that the FTC has failed to demonstrate that it would prevail on its claim that this particular vertical merger in this specific industry could lessen competition substantially. On the contrary, evidence on the record points to greater consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore DISMISSED. »
It now remains to get rid of the accusations of the CMA in the United Kingdom and the horizon will be completely cleared up for Microsoft. He can nevertheless still choose validate the acquisition ofActivision Blizzard before July 18final date for the finalization of the takeover during the development of the contract, before settling his legal troubles across the Channel in a second time: if he loses, he will not technically have the right to sell the productions ofActivision Blizzard on the territory…
2/Since we first announced this deal, our commitment to bringing more games to more people on more devices has only grown. We’ve signed multiple agreements to make Activision Blizzard’s games, Xbox first party games and Game Pass all available to more players than they are today.
—Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 11, 2023
3/We know that players around the world have been watching this case closely and I’m proud of our efforts to expand player access and choice throughout this journey. END
—Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 11, 2023
Phil Spencer is in any case delighted with his progress, which brings us a little closer to the end of the tunnel and an earthquake in the video game landscape.
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