Things are finally accelerating around the takeover ofActivision-Blizzardbut probably not how Microsoft hoped so. After having proposed a new deal to Sony concerning the sharing of the Call of Duty license, the manufacturer must still convince the regulators of the various markets. In the middle of all this business, we find the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), an agency that is investigating the potential consequences of this takeover. If, at first, we did not necessarily see the organization oppose this merger, things could become more and more complicated for Microsoft.
A potential obstacle to redemption, which could be very significant
Whether everything that is to follow is to be taken in the conditional, it could still make life difficult for Microsoft. In an article published last night, the Politico site claims that three sources tell it the FTC” is likely to file an anti-trust complaint » regarding the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, with the aim of blocking it.
The reasons for this potential blockage come firstly from the fact that the FTC is “ septic in the face of certain arguments employed by Microsoft. The complaint has not yet been filed, and the four decision makers of such an action have not yet voted, which is why Politico remains cautious. If this case heads in that direction, the FTC should let us know by next month according to the site’s sources.
Sony and call of duty are obviously the subjects that could tip the scales in the context of such a complaint, but not only. Google is also a problem for Microsoftsince the company would have accused the manufacturer of deliberately weakening the quality of service of its Game Pass when used via Chrome, so that users turn instead to the platforms sold by Microsoft.
Politico says that if a complaint filed by January were to lead to a lawsuit, it could not be resolved in a few months let alone by July 2023, when the takeover is normally due to close. If this happens, the site indicates that the two companies could drop this acquisition.
As said before, everything is still at the stage of supposition. If the FTC takes action, there is no doubt that this could echo with British and European regulators, who are also on the reservation about this takeover. The soap opera therefore still has a lot of surprises in store for us.