The FTC has filed a lawsuit. In order to block Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Until today, negotiations between Microsoft, Sony, and regulators over competition and the future of the game Call of Duty lasted for several weeks.
The FTC, for its part, reports that after the purchase, Microsoft will suppress competitors to its Xbox game consoles and rapidly growing subscription content and cloud game business.
For Microsoft, it will mean that the company will face severe obstacles to completing the deal with Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft’s vice chairman and the president said he believes the deal will increase competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers. He also added that they are fully convinced that they are right and are happy to present our arguments in court.
CEO Bobby Kotick told Activision Blizzard employees that he wanted to build confidence that the deal would be completed. He also disagrees with the opinion that this deal is anti-competitive and not in line with the facts. He added that they believe they will win this dispute.
Before that, about a month ago, Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal for new Call of Duty games. In response, Sony has not yet accepted the offer. The same deal was also struck between Nintendo and Valve. So we can assume that if the deal with Activision Blizzard is approved, Call of Duty could appear on Nintendo consoles.
