What does FTC has to say
The antitrust regulator argued that the purchase would allow the Redmond-based company to dent competition to its Xbox consoles and hit a “rapidly growing’ subscription-based cloud-gaming business. It said that Microsoft would get exclusive access to Activision games, including the company’s cash cow Call of Duty, leaving competing consoles from Sony and Nintendo without the popular game.
“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition
In 2021, Microsoft purchased Zenimax for $7.5 billion, thus acquiring Bethesda and all of its IPs, making Starfield and Redfall, two of its most popular titles, Microsoft-exclusive. The regulator notes that the company did this despite assuring European antitrust authorities that “it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles,” as per European Commission’s statement.
Activision makes Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch which are popular and garner millions of active users monthly.
Microsoft says deal will benefit gamers, companies
However, Microsoft said the acquisition would help benefit gamers and gaming companies alike. It also offered to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to provide “Call of Duty” games to rivals for a decade.
“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 our case in court,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft responding to the agency’s complaint.
# shorts FTC likely to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
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