Given the nature of the video game industry, it’s rare that things go to court with developers and publishers. Typically, the most popular way of seeing one of them in court is over a copyright issue over a device or them suing cheaters for the software that they provide to others. But right now, there’s a potential war brewing between Microsoft and the FTC. So what did the team that made the Xbox do? Well, legally, they did nothing wrong. But they’ve been trying to buy Activision Blizzard so that the companies can merge, something we’ve seen a lot of in recent years.
But the problem is that Sony has been raising a stink about it since the deal was initially approved. The deal isn’t finished yet, as such mergers take time. So Sony has asked multiple agencies to look into the deal and see if they would be willing to stop it. One of the ones who answered that call was the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC is reportedly looking into the deal to see if Microsoft can be trusted to live up to their promises about not “restricting exclusivity” for franchises like Call of Duty, which have long been on other systems. Sony has called that out multiple times because they don’t believe the promises made by people like Phil Spencer.
In the report about the FTC, it’s inferred that they aren’t buying it either. As a result, they could block the merger, shutting down any attempt to get it done. In a new statement about the potential battle between the two, it’s said that the Xbox team will take the FTC to court should they try and block it. That might not be a bad move, as some say Xbox has a good chance of winning in court, depending on a few factors.
That being said, the court case itself could take a while, and as a result, the deal would potentially fall through due to the delays. Furthermore, the last time the FTC went up against Microsoft, the then-computer company folded its merger plans because it didn’t want to deal with the courts. So as you can see, a lot is going on here.
It’s not official that the FTC will block the merger, and the publisher has been working out deals to compromise with officials to ensure the deal goes through. But whether it’s “enough” in the end? We’ll have to wait and see.
Source: The Standard
