FTC files lawsuit against Microsoft to stop the Activision acquisition
After months of uncertainty, the United States Federal Trade Commission has officially filed a lawsuit to stop Microsoft from its $68.7 billion dollar purchase of Activision Blizzard. The attempt to block the acquisition is because the FTC believes that it would allow Microsoft to suppress competitors, especially due to the fact that Microsoft already acquired ZeniMax and made their IPs exclusive to Microsoft platforms despite stating to antitrust authorities that they would not do that.
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block technology giant Microsoft Corp. from acquiring leading video game developer Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its blockbuster gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, alleging that the $69 billion deal, Microsoft’s largest ever and the largest ever in the video gaming industry, would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.
Microsoft says that it is prepared to take things to court and prove that its purchase of Activision will help competition rather than hurt it. They also made offers to Valve, Nintendo, and Sony that would allow for Activision's Call of Duty franchise to be available on competing platforms for up to 10 years.
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