Preliminary Injunction Denied - Microsoft Beats FTC in Court & Ready to Close Activision Merger

Blizzard Posted 2023/07/11 at 12:28 PM by Archimtiros

public version of the documentThe Court's Rulingeveryone involved vehemently denied

Judge Corley

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history. It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny has paid off: Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to for the first time bring Activision’s content to several cloud gaming services. This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore DENIED.
Comments from Activision, Microsoft, and the FTC

Bobby Kotick

Today a U.S. federal judge ruled in our favor, denying the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block our merger with Microsoft.

We’re grateful to the court for the way this process was handled and the thoughtfulness of the decision. The U.S. joins the 38 countries where our deal can proceed—these decisions are based on facts and data that show our merger is good for players and for competition in the industry.

We’re optimistic that today’s ruling signals a path to full regulatory approval elsewhere around the globe, and we stand ready to work with UK regulators to address any remaining concerns so our merger can quickly close.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on our progress. Thank you for all you do for our players, for our company, and for each other.

With gratitude,

BobbyThe Verge shared a more detailed internal emailspokesperson Douglas Farrar sayingWhat Comes Nextruled against the deal last April

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Comment by corrupt733You knew they were clueless when they started talking about cloud gaming lolComment by Narhwalspls fire Kotick, GatesComment by johnles87I don't understand this. Even if they do have the intention of pulling games from Sony store, how is Sony allowed to take someone to court for it? Even worst, to try and block a merge? This is why I hate big corporate companies with their own legal department, they have too much free time and want to sue everyone for anything.Comment by VystrelResOne step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by War91One step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by KerathrasJudge Corley must be a gamer, POG! 😂Comment by strongyppls fire Kotick, GatesGates has not worked at microsoft for a whileComment by DeadprincessXTOne step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by Kyraellinapls fire Kotick, GatesComment by MadSoritmihcraLmgood :)Comment by ArchimtirosI don't understand this. Even if they do have the intention of pulling games from Sony store, how is Sony allowed to take someone to court for it? Even worst, to try and block a merge? This is why I hate big corporate companies with their own legal department, they have too much free time and want to sue everyone for anything.it is a matter of scaleenoughthatComment by lavishnessyayComment by pawpurrpls fire Kotick, GatesGates has not worked at microsoft for a whileComment by WillowwhispOne step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by MortalitosOne step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by strudelYou knew they were clueless when they started talking about cloud gaming lolComment by Bloodvalor21Common Lina Khan LComment by FastarousRealistically though, that's a hard argument to make - Call of Duty (even Activision as a whole) may be big, but it's not that big and the FTC failed to prove that any significant number of PlayStation users would be likely to switch platforms if the games were pulled. That is extremely unlikely to happen anyway though, as it's against Microsoft's best interest to remove CoD from PlayStation in the first place - in fact, Microsoft swore up and down that they wouldn't remove it, and even Sony acknowledged it wasn't likely to leave.Comment by PandaabearOne step closer to Microsoft being able to clean house at Blizzard. I continue to cling to hope that Ion Hazzikostas will soon be on his way out!Comment by XexjiI don't understand this. Even if they do have the intention of pulling games from Sony store, how is Sony allowed to take someone to court for it? Even worst, to try and block a merge? This is why I hate big corporate companies with their own legal department, they have too much free time and want to sue everyone for anything.

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