The US trade regulator FTC is apparently serious about its concerns about a takeover of the computer game manufacturer Activision Blizzard King by the software company Microsoft. Bloomberg writes that the agency has asked a US court to bar the takeover until an internal FTC court hears the FTC’s complaint against the takeover.
The FTC had already announced in December that it would take legal action to prevent the takeover if necessary. However, this step alone does not prevent Microsoft from closing the deal with Activision. Therefore, a US court has now been asked for an injunction.
Microsoft had always emphasized that it wanted to complete the deal even against resistance from the FTC. Other key antitrust authorities are divided on an acquisition issue. The EU approved the takeover subject to conditions. The British CMA, on the other hand, has blocked the deal with arguments similar to those of the FTC for the British market: A takeover of the manufacturer of the most successful computer game series in the world threatens to become very bad business for consumers in the medium term.
The game in question is called “Call of Duty” and has hundreds of millions of fans around the world, so far on a number of platforms including Microsoft’s Xbox, but also Playstation, PC and soon possibly Nintendo. The danger that competition watchdogs around the world see is that Microsoft could offer elements of the game exclusively for users of its own console and its own cloud gaming universe in the medium term. Playstation players – so the concern – might then have to switch to Xbox in order to be able to continue enjoying their favorite game to the full.
Microsoft has recently tried to allay concerns with long-term guarantees from Activision for other platforms. The EU antitrust authorities have been appeased, the British and US American ones have not. After the British CMA’s decision, Microsoft complained bitterly about the British authority and lodged an appeal with the competent court.
The step now reported by the FTC puts Microsoft in distress. Because the hearing before the FTC court is scheduled for early August. However, Microsoft’s deal with Activision has July 18 as a provisional expiry date. The deadline can be extended, but it is unclear whether Activision would be willing to do so. According to Bloomberg, Activision could pull out of the deal and still get $3 billion from Microsoft for the failed takeover.