Microsoft has won a major victory in its FTC lawsuit over the Activision Blizzard acquisition. On Tuesday, July 11, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley issued a ruling in the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction for Microsoft’s attempt to buy Activision Blizzard.
The request has been officially rejected, meaning Microsoft can now technically move forward with the acquisition. While this may seem like a slam dunk, there may still be a few hurdles to overcome. But for the most part, it looks like Microsoft will come out on top. The $68.7 billion deal has been a central topic in the gaming industry for more than a year. Rightly so. It’s a huge takeover.
Microsoft was met with strong opposition to the deal, both from rival company Sony and regulators. But that seems to be coming to an end soon. With Judge Corley’s ruling, Microsoft can now proceed with the acquisition by the July 18 deadline.
This is not a victory for Microsoft in the FTC antitrust case
Judge Corley’s decision today is a good thing for Microsoft. However, it is not yet the end of things. Microsoft still has an ongoing antitrust case with the FTC that still needs resolution.
But this ruling goes a long way to sway things in Microsoft’s favor. The argument against the Microsoft acquisition has always been that it will stifle competition. The ruling filed today (via The edge), however, states otherwise. “On the contrary, the record evidence points to increased consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The request for a preliminary injunction is therefore REJECTED,” the ruling said.
Call of Duty has been one of the main reasons for opposition to this deal, but not the full focus for the FTC in particular. Now the regulator claims the acquisition would give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the cloud gaming space.