Microsoft faces uphill battle over nearly $70 billion merger with Activision Blizzard

Microsoft wants to become one of the largest video game companies in the world but it’s facing a lot of pushback over a nearly $70 billion merger with game maker Activision Blizzard which makes games like Diablo, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty.

On Monday we learned that the Federal Trade Commission has plans to stop the deal for now by seeking an injunction.

Even outside the gaming world, it’s hard not to recognize games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and more. The FTC could soon be in U.S. District Court for a temporary restraining order to block the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is the company behind all of those games. Professor John Kirkwood at Seattle University Law School has knowledge and background in anti-trust issues and he says this case featuring Redmond-based Microsoft could land in court soon.

“That kind of case is typically on an accelerated schedule there will be a hearing very soon for what’s called the temporary injunction to just stop the merger… the courts understand the parties want to move on this,” said Kirkwood.

If the deal goes through then World of Warcraft and many more games would become part of Microsoft. Microsoft moved to acquire the third-party video game developer in January 2022 for $68.7 billion. The purchase would be the largest in Microsoft’s history. That means more money and more jobs in our region potentially.

But the FTC is challenging the deal saying it would allow Microsoft to take games away from other platforms. Professor Kirkwood says the case could be in court very soon because of the FTC’s actions.

Recently on CNN, Microsoft President and CEO Brad Smith admitted that Microsoft hasn’t sold the merger to everyone quite yet, including regulators.

“Obviously we have not yet succeeded in addressing the concern of every regulator but look at the end of the day you have to decide. Do you want to find a solution to every problem or do you want to find a problem with every solution?” said Smith.

Smith says the FTC action to file a suit could actually speed up the decision-making process and said the company has confidence in its case and bringing it to court.

Geekwire reported that the deal has an expiration in a little over a month on July 18, so we will see in the coming weeks whether Microsoft can truly become the industry leader in the gaming industry.

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