Federal Trade Commission sues to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard



The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversees and monitors fair trade in the United States, sued Microsoft to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp.'s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/12/ftc-seeks-block-microsoft-corps-acquisition-activision-blizzard-inc

The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/8/23498224/ftc-microsoft-activision-blizzard-legal-challenge-sues-block

FTC sues Microsoft to block Activision Blizzard deal - Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/23500417/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-ftc-lawsuit-acquisition

FTC Sues to Block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition - IGN
https://www.ign.com/articles/ftc-sues-to-block-microsofts-activision-blizzard-acquisition

Activision sues California over its Activision lawsuit | Eurogamer.net
https://www.eurogamer.net/activision-sues-california-over-its-activision-lawsuit

In January 2022, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard , a major game maker. A lawsuit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) on July 20, 2021, citing ``unfair treatment of female employees, such as sexual harassment and wage disparities,'' and various issues within the company emerged. It was reported that Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $ 68.7 billion (about 9.4 trillion yen), the highest amount in the company's history.

Microsoft announces acquisition of Activision Blizzard for about 8 trillion yen, Cotic CEO who is in the midst of sexual harassment problem retires after completion of acquisition - GIGAZINE



However, since Microsoft, which has a popular game brand called Xbox, has acquired a major game maker, the FTC has been conducting an examination based on the antitrust law (antitrust law) immediately after the acquisition announcement.

And on December 8, 2022, local time, the FTC announced that it had filed a lawsuit to block Microsoft's plan to acquire Activision Blizzard. 'Once Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, the company will be able to stifle competitors in Xbox and the rapidly growing subscription content (Xbox Game Pass) and cloud gaming services ,' the FTC said of its anti-acquisition plan. It will become,” he said.

Holly Vedova, head of the FTC's Office of Competition, said, 'Today, we see Microsoft taking control of major independent game studios and using it to compete in the burgeoning gaming market in multiple areas. I'm trying to stop what I tried to hinder,' he commented.

In response, Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, said on his Twitter account, 'We believe that the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard will increase competition in the gaming market and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers. 'From the day the FTC began its review, we have been committed to addressing competition concerns, including the concessions we proposed earlier this week. We will have a chance at peace.' We have full confidence in our lawsuit and welcome the opportunity to prove our case in court,' he tweeted.




Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said of Microsoft's acquisition, ``The claim that this transaction is anti-competitive is not consistent with the facts, and we believe we can win this challenge.'' In a message to employees, Jeb Boatman, senior vice president of public policy law at Activision Blizzard, said, ``There's been a lot of whispering about the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, and a lot of it is about us. It lacks a deep understanding of the gaming industry.” “So far we have received merger approval from several jurisdictions and are in the process of proceeding with others. , It's constructive and productive, and it's generally very positive.'

The popular game series Call of Duty is particularly problematic in Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. There is concern that Microsoft will gain too much power in the game industry as Call of Duty will be offered exclusively on Xbox. However, Microsoft has promised to continue to provide Call of Duty on various platforms including PlayStation even after the acquisition is completed, and in fact, Nintendo and Valve have signed a ``contract to supply Call of Duty for 10 years'' with Microsoft. It is clear that they exchanged In addition, Sony has also been presented with a 'contract to supply Call of Duty for 10 years' from Microsoft, but it is said that the company has not yet accepted this offer .

Nintendo and Microsoft signed a contract to supply ``Call of Duty'' for 10 years, and depending on Sony's attitude, the possibility of a 10-year contract for PlayStation - GIGAZINE



Sony is said to be the most opposed to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. ``Sony is the most vocal anti-acquisition company,'' Smith told The Wall Street Journal. I'm talking

For Microsoft to complete its acquisition transaction with Activision Blizzard, it must be approved by the FTC. Also, regulators in the United Kingdom and the EU as well as the United States are reviewing acquisition deals by Microsoft, so the FTC may not be the only one to block the acquisition. In addition, Microsoft mentioned that the concerns of the UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) were ' misplaced ', and that the CMA 'adopted Sony's complaint without considering the potential harm to consumers.' condemned.

Microsoft is also accusing Sony of paying developers to reduce content from the Xbox Game Pass, and the conflict between Sony and Microsoft is likely to deepen.

Microsoft claims that ``Sony is paying developers to exclude games from Xbox Game Pass''-GIGAZINE



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