Microsoft’s promise to bring the Call of Duty franchise to Nintendo consoles for a decade might have been a tad too early, with the US Federal Trade Commission now threatening to file suit to block the company’s $100 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition.
FTC voted 3-1 in favour of the tie-up complaint, which was filed in its in-house court, noting that it would thwart competition.
Regulators said Microsoft’s ownership of Activision could hurt other players in the $200 billion gaming market by limiting rivals’ access to the company’s biggest games.
“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.”
“We continue to believe that this deal will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith.
“We have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court,” he added.
He said the company is committed to addressing competition concerns and that it offered concessions to the FTC earlier this week.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is equally confident regarding the deal’s closure.
The FTC scheduled its in-house trial to begin on August 2, 2023.