Game Over: Microsoft Emerges Triumphant as FTC Sides with Them in Activision-Blizzard Feud

This saga is starting to reach its final chapters. The US justice system has ruled in favor of Microsoft in the acquisition process of Activision-Blizzard. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the major loser in this legal battle that has been unfolding over many episodes for quite some time.

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As well known, the FTC attempted to temporarily block the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft for $68.7 billion. The Federal Commission wanted to continue investigating the case, but Microsoft could move faster and close the deal. For this reason, they went to court to temporarily block everything and postpone the acquisition for now.

During five days of interviews with experts and involved parties -which have provided us with many juicy headlines-, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said that we would have a solution to everything soon. And that solution has arrived today: “The FTC has not demonstrated the possibility of prevailing in their claim that this vertical acquisition in this specific industry can reduce competition.”

Following this agreement, Microsoft now faces the challenging task of convincing the UK’s CMA (Competition and Markets Authority), which has also blocked the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The hearing was scheduled for July 28th, but thanks to a recent tweet by Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice President, we have learned that the CMA and Microsoft are dropping the litigation to try to reach a mutual agreement.

It should be recalled that the purchase must be executed before July 18. Otherwise, if this does not happen, Microsoft will have to pay Activision-Blizzard the contract penalty. However, everything points to the fact that it will be closed, especially after these last movements.

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