We have been reporting for what feels like an eternity now regarding this Microsoft bid to acquire Activision Blizzard. The spending spree continues after coming out of the headlines with the purchase of ZeniMax Media. Microsoft has been gunning for an astounding $69 billion for Activision Blizzard, and it’s not been a smooth process. Since the bid came out, plenty of flack from Sony and even regulators has been getting in the way of Microsoft’s purchase. Today, the Microsoft company is victorious over one court battle with the FTC.
For the past few days, we’ve been waiting to see the court ruling over the FTC preliminary injunction request. Microsoft has since been picked over by the court, with several key industry members giving testimonies regarding Activision Blizzard. The big component scrutinized for this deal has been Call of Duty, a franchise Sony claims would not only become exclusive but further hurt competition. But it looks like the court is siding with Microsoft over the fact that the company has been rather vocal regarding the franchise not leaving PlayStation. In fact, thanks to The Verge, we’re finding out that the Judge even noted that Microsoft was expanding Call of Duty into different platforms through this deal.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history. It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny has paid off: Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to for the first time bring Activision’s content to several cloud gaming services. This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore denied.
Judge Corley – The Verge
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So it looks like the Judge did not find anything to prevent this deal from going forward, and it’s sparked a major win for Microsoft. That now allows the company to divert its attention back over to the CMA. This is one regulator that denied the request initially, but Microsoft has since appealed the decision. This deal could finally go in Microsoft’s favor, and that would mean Call of Duty will at least thrive with cloud platforms, PC, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony consoles. But again, we have to wait and see if this resolution falls in Microsoft’s favor.
Meanwhile, there was already a reported advertisement earlier today that suggested Diablo IV, a Blizzard Entertainment title, was coming to Xbox Game Pass. However, since then, the president of Blizzard Entertainment has come out and debunked the report.
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