, alleging that the $69 billion deal, Microsoft’s largest ever and the largest ever in the video gaming industry, would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.
In a complaint issued today, the FTC pointed to Microsoft’s record of acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks . Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles includingMicrosoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles.
“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”
Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and Series X are one of only two types of high performance video game consoles. Importantly, Microsoft also offers a leading video game content subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, as well as a cutting-edge cloud-based video game streaming service, according to the complaint.
Activision is one of only a very small number of top video game developers in the world that create and publish high-quality video games for multiple devices, including video game consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. It produces some of the most iconic and popular video game titles, including
So Microsoft offers deal to Nintendo and Sony, but according to the FTC this would suppress competitors Meanwhile, Sony has exclusives, upon exclusives 😕
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FTC sues to block Microsoft’s $75bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard\n\t\t\tExclusive scoops\n\t\t\tSmart data to help spot risk and opportunity\n\t\t\tAnalysis of broader trends in M&A\n\t\t\tLex, our agenda-setting business commentary (Premium only)\n\t\t\tDue Diligence, an exclusive M&A newsletter (Premium only)\n\t\t Very good FTC The FTC is about to lose. $1.8T MSFT with its teams of Harvard Law Grads against Univ of Phoenix FTC Law Grads. Good Luck Uncle Sam 🤣😂🤣😂
Source: FT - 🏆 113. / 51 Read more »