The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will sue to block Microsoft’s plan to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
According to the Financial Times, the FTC is concerned that this acquisition by Microsoft will harm competitors with Xbox consoles and the business. cloud gaming
The deal with Activision will be Microsoft’s largest-ever acquisition and make it the third-largest game company by revenue, behind Tencent (China) and Sony (Japan).
In a press release, the FTC highlighted Activision as one of the few video game developers that produce and publishes top-notch games, including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, for several devices such as consoles. computers, game consoles, and mobile phones. If this deal is made, everything will be changed.
The FTC explained: “With Activision’s control of blockbuster franchises, Microsoft would have both the means and an incentive to harm competition by manipulating Activision’s prices, degrading Activision’s game quality, or experiencing player experience on competitor consoles and game services, changes in terms and duration of access to Activision content.”
Responding to these actions by the FTC, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company was “committed from the outset to addressing competition concerns, including making proposed concessions earlier this week for the FTC.” According to Microsoft, the company believes in the efforts and will present this in court. CEO Bobby Kotick Activision expressed confidence in the ability of this deal to be completed.
