The US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to stop Microsoft from acquiring gaming giant Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion, the biggest acquisition hurdle yet. The FTC argues that the consolidation could allow Microsoft to keep popular FPS games like Call of Duty: Warzone off rival consoles and give the company an unfair advantage in new areas like cloud gaming and subscription gaming services.
“Today, we are committing to prevent Microsoft from taking control of a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in many fast-growing and dynamic gaming markets,” said Holly Vedova, director of the Office of Competition at the FTC, in a press release. . press release published by the Washington Post.
Competition authorities in the UK and the European Union have also raised concerns about the deal, but the FTC lawsuit represents the biggest problem it has faced. The deal will give Microsoft ownership of Activision, Blizzard and mobile developer King, which makes the hugely popular Candy Crush games.
The proposed plan to buy Activision-Blizzard is the largest such acquisition in Microsoft’s history, but follows a string of successful acquisitions, including Bethesda parent Zenimax Media, Arkane, id Software, Tango Gameworks and others.
The FTC’s lawsuit will be heard in administrative court.
Source : PC Gamesn
