Thursday, December 8, 2022

FTC Files Suit To Block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Buy

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Thursday that it is looking to block the acquisition of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard by Microsoft Corp., saying the buy will "harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services". According to the FTC, the $69 billion deal will "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business." The agency cited "Microsoft’s record of acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks" and particularly how Microsoft made several of Bethesda's titles, including Starfield and Redfall exclusive only to its own platform--despite assurances to the contrary.

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