FTC Pestering Of Microsoft Activision Acquisition Finally Comes To Close

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Summary

  • Microsoft wins legal challenge to acquire Activision-Blizzard, despite FTC’s objections.
  • Xbox exclusivity for franchises like Call of Duty unlikely due to multi-platform strategy.
  • Future game company acquisitions by Microsoft may not drastically impact multi-platform approach.

3 years past, the gaming sphere experienced a significant shock with Microsoft’s revelation of its intent to purchase Activision-Blizzard for an unprecedented $70 billion, marking the largest acquisition in gaming ever recorded.

Despite initial opposition from the Federal Trade Commission due to antitrust issues, a court ruling in 2023 favored Microsoft. However, the FTC has continued to challenge this decision by filing an appeal.

Microsoft Now Officially Owns Activsion-Blizzard-King

As a gamer, I’m thrilled to share that a federal appeals court in San Francisco has dismissed the legal dispute brought forth by the Federal Trade Commission concerning Microsoft’s takeover of Activision-Blizzard. This exciting news suggests we might see some amazing gaming experiences in the near future! (Based on Reuters report)

2023 saw US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley decline to intervene, asserting that the Federal Trade Commission hadn’t demonstrated that Microsoft acquiring Activision would significantly reduce competition in the areas of video game library subscriptions and cloud gaming. Essentially, this signifies that Microsoft has officially taken over Activision-Blizzard-King, marking an end to the FTC’s involvement in the matter.

Despite Microsoft owning the megapublisher Activision, it’s unlikely that popular series like Call of Duty, Diablo, and others will become exclusive to Xbox. This is because Sony has recently secured a multi-year deal to continue offering Call of Duty on their platforms. Additionally, Microsoft’s current strategy for releasing games across multiple platforms indicates that even first-party titles such as Gears of War could potentially appear on PlayStation.

At first, doubts about the purchase appeared reasonable. However, with time, it has become clear that not much has fundamentally altered, except for the removal of exclusive betas on PlayStation platforms and the cancellation of Call of Duty content.

Although some people were skeptical at the beginning, we now see that the situation hasn’t changed drastically, with two main differences being that beta testing exclusivity on PlayStation is no longer a factor and there will be no more special Call of Duty content.

Is it possible that Microsoft will purchase additional gaming companies in the future, given their Xbox division’s strategy for a multi-platform presence which could make acquisitions less significant?

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2025-05-08 03:47