FTC Sues to Block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Acquisition [IGN]

In a press release, the agency says that Xbox would “gain control of top video game franchises” and therefore “harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscriptions services by denying or degrading rivals’ access to its popular content.”

The FTC has pointed to Microsoft’s record of acquiring gaming content “to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.” The FTC cites games like Starfield and Redfall, which will be Xbox exclusives, as examples of the company withholding games from rival consoles.

Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022 for almost $69 billion. The move would bring the company’s library of franchises like Call of Duty and Warcraft into the Xbox fold and countless developers into the Xbox first-party studios family.

The planned acquisition has been met with fierce opposition from Sony, Xbox’s console competitor, who has encouraged investigation into the planned deal. Microsoft has tried to appease Sony by promising Call of Duty will remain available on PlayStation platforms, and recently announced plans to extend the franchise onto the Nintendo Switch and keep the title on Steam.

It’s unclear what the lawsuit will mean for the acquisition, though following the announcement, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, tweeted that the company will “continue to believe that [its] deal to acquire Activision Blizzard will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers.” In a separate tweet, Smith said that the company has been committed “since Day One to addressing competition concerns.”

“This sounds alarming, so I want to reinforce my confidence that this deal will close,” Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told employees in an internal memo acquired by Axios. “We believe these arguments will win despite a regulatory environment focused on ideaology and misconceptions about the tech industry.”

IGN has reached out to Xbox for a statement and will update the story if one comes in.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Taylor Lyles is IGN’s Associate Tech Editor. You can reach her @TayNixster.