The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today formally announced their intent to block the Microsoft from acquiring publisher Activision Blizzard.
2022 kicked off with a bang when Microsoft announced its intention to acquire the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher for a record-setting $69 billion. The deal opened up major questions about whether or not Microsoft would restrict access to future Activision games from PlayStation, Nintendo, and other non-Microsoft held platforms. Though Phil Spencer and team have spent months attempting to assuage regulators that titles like Call of Duty would remain multiplatform, it now appears that those assurances have done little to move the needle in the United States.
The FTC today announced that they're moving to block the deal. Their reasoning being that the acquisition would help Microsoft suppress competitors to its Xbox hardware as well as its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The FTC specifically pointed out what happened to Bethesda Softworks where, following the aquisition, Microsoft moves to make all upcoming games outside of ongoing deals (Deathloop, Ghostwire Tokyo) exclusive to Xbox and PC. According to the FTC, Microsoft had previous informed European antitrust authorities that 'it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles,' yet turned Starfield and Redfall into exclusives following the acquisition.
“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.”
The merger isn't facing heavy scrutiny in the United States. Both the UK and European Union have recently raised concerns, though we'll have to wait till next year to hear their results. In recent weeks, Microsoft has made wild moves to try and convince regulators it doesn't intend on limiting access to competitors. This includes assurances about bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms, keeping the franchise on Steam, and offering Sony a 10-year deal, which the PlayStation maker refused. In perhaps a sign of how skeptical the FTC is of these assurances, the commission voted 3-1 to issue the complaint.
We'll continue to keep you updated if any more news comes out about the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger.