The FTC have themselves ended their action vs. the Microsoft Activision deal.
The FTC revealed plans to investigate the deal shortly after Microsoft announced it in 2022. After a lot of back and forth between FTC chair Lina Khan and the company, the FTC filed a TRO and preliminary injunction in judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s court in California in June 2023.
In the following month, judge Corley rejected the injunction, giving Microsoft and Activision clearance to close the deal in the US. The two would eventually close the deal, after also securing approval from the UK CMA, in October 2023.
FTC chair Lina Khan, who directed the investigation and decided to file the TRO and injunction, resigned from the agency at the start of this year. After all of these happening, the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court still went ahead with the procedure for appeal.
And then, two weeks ago, the appeals court rejected the FTC’s appeal. This move seemed to be mostly procedural at this point, with Khan no longer in the agency to choose to pursue actions vs. the deal further, such as taking it to higher courts.
But now, we can see what the current FTC’s position is regarding this deal. Microsoft President Brad Smith shared an FTC document revealing they are dismissing their complaint.
To quote the document:
The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, DISMISSED.
Smith shared this statement alongside the document on Twitter:
Today’s decision is a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C. We are grateful to the FTC for today’s announcement.
This is a particularly auspicious moment for Microsoft to get this good news. As reported by Gamer Social Club, Circana data revealed that their games are at the top of best-selling titles overall, and they’re also the top games in PlayStation 5. Microsoft even found that their hardware and subscription numbers are up.
Even if Microsoft still doesn’t have everything figured out, their decision to get Activision Blizzard King after Bethesda has paid off. They are now one of the biggest third party publishers in the industry, and possibly at the top of the rankings in terms of revenue. They’re definitely currently above both Sony and Nintendo, and most third parties, in terms of game releases.
Nintendo is probably going to turn that around when the Switch 2 launches next month, but Microsoft is secure in being able to move forward with their current and future plans now.
