This court case could decide the future of Xbox.
Microsoft’s key Xbox executives will defend the company’s $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard against the Federal Trade Commission today in federal court. The result, expected by the first week of July, will likely determine whether this giant gaming deal goes ahead. Microsoft is battling a key US regulator here, but the real war is shaping up to be between Microsoft and Sony.to block the merger while its own administrative case plays out over the coming months.
Sony has emerged as one of the only companies opposing Microsoft’s deal, offering up documents, depositions, and much more to the FTC, European Commission, and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority . Microsoft and Sony have already been in filings to these regulators, and it increasingly feels like that tension will spill over into open court this week.Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision Blizzard last year, and it’s been sparring with regulators ever since. Now, it’s entering a particularly crucial phase.
“The injunction sought by the FTC would thus almost certainly scuttle the transaction,” says Microsoft in its opposition filing to this preliminary injunction hearing. Microsoft argues there’s no need for an injunction because “the FTC could obtain effective relief at the end of the administrative process if it prevailed.” That effective relief could involve forcing Microsoft to sell off Activision Blizzard.
Finalizing this deal won’t be easy for Microsoft, even if it’s successful at winning this FTC federal court case. Despite winning approval from EU regulators, it’s about to battle with the CMA over the decision to block the deal on cloud gaming concerns. But
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