An investigation was launched by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) during Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. According to sources close to the FTC, Microsoft will face an antitrust lawsuit.
Microsoft faces antitrust lawsuit
Microsoft wants to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty and Candy Crush, for $69 billion. It is stated that it will be the biggest move by the FTC ever under President Lina Khan to rein in the power of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Four commissioners at the FTC have yet to take any action regarding the complaint. People familiar with the investigation said most of the heavyweights on the investigation were completed, including statements from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision president Bobby Kotick.
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At the heart of the FTC’s concerns is whether the acquisition of Activision gave Microsoft unfair support in the video game market. Sony emerged as the primary competitor to the deal, telling the FTC and regulators in other countries that Sony would be at a significant disadvantage if Microsoft made hit games like Call of Duty exclusive to its platforms.
Sony highlighted that the deal will not only hurt its ability to compete, but will also leave consumers less choice for the game and less choice for developers where to publish it. Company officials who made a statement on the subject said, “Microsoft is a company that is killing the competition by buying irreplaceable content at high prices to manipulate the competition in its favor.” made statements.
Microsoft has repeatedly stated that it has promised to keep Call of Duty on Sony’s PlayStation, and what’s more, the game is not a must-have as Sony says. Additionally, Microsoft reiterates that the game is not currently available on any subscription service and its future addition to the Xbox service will not harm Sony.
Microsoft has pledged to continue to offer Call of Duty on Sony’s Playstation console, and recently made an offer to Sony to grant access to the game for the next 10 years. The offer was first reported by the New York Times. It is unknown how Sony responded to the offer.