FTC Sues Microsoft over Activision Acquisition
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will officially lodged a lawsuit against Microsoft for its intentions to acquire Activision-Blizzard. Undoubtedly, the lawsuit is one of the major hurdles faced by Microsoft to see the acquisition go through. Similar to the scrutiny placed by the UK-based CMA regulatory body as well. It seems that the long-lasting saga will continue well into 2023.
FTC Takes Microsoft to Court Over Activision Blizzard Acquisition
It looks like the story that never ceases to dominate 2022’s gaming headlines continues to steamroll through the end of the year. By way of the Washington Post, the FTC is preparing to file a lawsuit against Microsoft for its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.
The lawsuit is undoubtedly the most significant challenge to tech consolidation in nearly two decades. FTC Commissioner, Lina Khan, is quickly becoming the face of a new era of staunch anti-trust positions against “big tech”.
The FTC Commission voted on Thursday to proceed with the lawsuit. Party lines carried the vote with a 3-1 majority to move forward with the court case against the Redmond-based software giant.
What Does the FTC Lawsuit Actually Mean?
FTC officially sues Microsoft over Activision-Blizzard acquisition
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It is evident that the FTC wants to take a stronger approach when dealing with big tech. The lawsuit could be seen as a message to the rest of the industry that anti-competitive and anti-union behavior will be scrutinized. However, things are not simple as they seem.
While consolidation is only one factor of the potential challenges, it would be remiss for the FTC to overlook workplace-related remedies the acquisition could provide.
Recently, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union publically endorsed Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Furthermore, the union noted that the acquisition will benefit both Microsoft employees and the gaming sector as a whole. Unfortunately, the video game industry is notorious for toxic workplace behavior. Unionization of vulnerable workers could help alleviate these malpractices on a grand scale. However, it seems that the FTC stance does not seem to factor into the union debate.
The FTC lawsuit could be a formality to seek concessions from Microsoft. Whereby, the company will be ordered to comply with certain requirements in order to gain approval for the acquisition. These concessions could be agreements to provide Call of Duty for up to 10 years on different platforms such as PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam.
The acquisition has already been approved in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia.
