
Anyone for a bit of FTC news? Just what you wanted on a Thursday afternoon, eh?
Yes, just a few months after the FTC lost its request for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, the regulator has now resumed its challenge - with plans to move forward with an in-house hearing.
In a statement to Bloomberg, FTC spokesperson Victoria Graham simply had the following to say:
"The FTC continues to believe this deal is a threat to competition."
A new order that's been filed by the FTC this week mentions the Commission has "determined that the public interest warrants that this matter be resolved fully and expeditiously", and this will be conducted by a virtually-conducted evidentiary hearing at some point in the relatively near future.
As a result of the FTC losing the preliminary injunction request back in July, Microsoft is still able to close the Activision Blizzard acquisition before the deadline of October 18th, and the company expects this will be the case:
"We still anticipate that we will close the transaction by October 18, and we have full confidence in our case and the deal’s benefits to gamers and competition."
Activision Blizzard didn't hold back either, issuing a fairly fiery statement in response to the FTC:
"We’re focused on working with Microsoft toward closing. How the FTC uses limited taxpayer dollars is its decision."
Ultimately, it doesn't look like the FTC's challenge of the Activision Blizzard takeover will be able to stop it from going through prior to October 18th, but it does mean that the Commission could technically keep fighting it even after it closes. It'll be interesting to see what happens next, but for now at least, the ball is still in Microsoft's court.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.
[source ftc.gov, via bloomberg.com]
Comments 67
Sure, Khan, keep setting our tax dollars on fire. We are used to it. 😔
Khan is big dumb. Xbox says they will close before this in house trial will even begin. Now that Sony has signed a contract for COD and Ubisoft has the cloud rights, what are they even going to argue???
Much as I'm not a huge fan of consolidation, they have lost the case convincingly and this seems like a giant waste of time.
Lets just get on with it now, please FTC, let it go!
Why is this still going on? While I do believe that Xbox’s strategy of studio acquisition is damaging to the gaming industry, especially as more and more information comes to light, it does seem that Microsoft won this one already, for better or worse. The FTC can please stop bragging g about squandering tax payer dollars when we’re in a bad economy.
Gotta love how government bodies love to waste other peoples money and the voters don't care.
@somnambulance I think the acquisition of more first party studios is making Game Pass a great consumer option. Since being subscribed to Game Pass, I have played more games I wouldn't have had the money for. I have tried and fallen in love with games that I wouldn't have thought I would enjoy. Game Pass reignited my love for gaming. Competition is good. This is good for gaming.
I bet the CMA comes back and holds its ground again.
FTC and CMA I think are in bed together.
I’m sorry but this acquisition like it or not, is not a monopoly.
If they buy another big publisher depending on who, would be a monopoly, I agree
This acquisition here is not going to kill Sony, Nintendo, Nvidia, Valve’s Steam, or Amazon
"Let it go
Let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go
Let it go
Turn away and slam the door"
This is purely symbolic at this point. It is nothing more than political wrangling. Such a waste.
We're talking about the same FTC that chose to not class internet as a utility and ruled in favor of ISPs having local monopolies.
They're a joke.
Just give it up you lost, the deal is done.
"Sarah Morgan disliked that."
I'm sure they'll find more taxpayer resources somewhere...
@somnambulance damaging for ps fans not pc and xbox fans gamepass for the win!
@GamingFan4Lyf lol good one wish I came up with it first. Just let it go .
@Deshalu no it won't kill sony it will bleed them slowly.
@Deshalu scumbag governments for you
@Deshalu I think the concern is this is the second recent big acquisition with many more to come. The leaked documents have shown the MS plan is to keep on buying more and more studios until they have their monopoly - and they aren't doing it for the benefit of the gaming industry.
While the other side of the argument is that we get COD for no extra cost. For the moment.
As much as I enjoy watching the US government fail, I hope this is the end of the current FTC. It's time to clean house.
@GhanaViking exactly. Gamepass when it launched it was a ok idea that I had no interest in till 2020 when Bethesda stuff starting popping up .with call of duty or hell i been meaning to try any of the new crash games on gamepass so I'll alot of people will be happy once Activision games start to appear on gamepass
Let me fix their quote: "The FTC continues to believe this deal is a threat to [THE] competition, ie Sony."
@StonyKL no benefit to the gaming industry? Looks like pc, xbox and anyone with a smart TV, phone, tablet, will benefit from this. So kinda looks like it benefits gamers more. If you don't thinks so that's your problem you can solve by downloading the gamepass app on your smart device 😉 it's on iPhone and Android now. I tried gears 5 on my phone just to see if it works..... well it does. Just get a Bluetooth remote though other wise you can't play some games
Khan is a complete disgrace, what a joke.
@RazputinAquato "Andreja loved that" haha
Removed - trolling/baiting
I got popcorn in a Master Chief helmet. Let the fireworks begin again!
Why is the ftc allowed to exist? They need to be extinguished.
The FTC seem to be on the warpath at the moment, going after Amazon too.
I don't think this acquisition is good for gamers, per se. Microsoft could write a deal to get these games on gamepass. They could pay for exclusives. Sony already does these deals. Those things are good for MS fans and gamepass users. I don't see how MS owning the company is inherently a good thing for competition or gamers. Unless the argument is it helps them make more money and stay in business as competition to Sony and Nintendo etc.? All I see is a huge company poised to make more money and lay off a bunch more people who suddenly become redundant. All that said, I don't see the FTC putting forth a great case against, and I won't complain about getting more Diablo and future Crash games for no extra cost. I dunno. Complex things are complicated I guess
@y2jarmyofficial @GhanaViking It’s damaging long term to the industry. Xbox should focus on developing what it has rather than using its pocketbook to look toward monopolizing the industry. I’m net neutral between Xbox and PS, but I feel strongly that bogarting already established IPs is less favorable to creating new content for the sake of improving the industry.
Microsoft should just cut their losses with this sorry saga and aquire Ubisoft and Sega. Much smaller fish....smaller hurdles.
I'm so sick of this. Why can't it be over already?
@Spider-Kev
Anyone remember Rare They used to be great until Microsoft bought them!
Rare were heading past their greatest hits when Microsoft acquired them. Don't you think Nintendo would have stepped in and keep Rare for themselves? They probably foresaw something Microsoft did not..
Hilarious they aren't giving up
I have said it many a time in these forums, I think the CMA has been dancing to the tune played by the FTC, and to a great extent (as the Judge herself commented) the FTC have been protecting the dominance of Sony, which when you consider that Microsoft is an American company, completely baffles me.
The CMA have already signalled that they needed to review things once more, and this news, to my mind, was done in conjunction with the plans that the FTC had in mind. Effectively, rather than agreeing the acquisition a week or so ago, which the CMA could have, they stalled to give the FTC the time they needed to start the process once again.
I would not be at all surprised if the CMA now delay their decision beyond the 18th of October in order to frustrate Microsoft's deadline, and to enable the FTC to pull their shenanigans too. This is likely a coordinated assault by both regulators. If I were Microsoft, I would just close the deal on the 17th of October, and tell the UK they can either agree it or have a substandard service for the UK gamers. When it comes to the FTC, I just don't think they have a case to answer anyway, so they can probably be all but ignored.
Mark my words; watch the CMA stall beyond the 18th of October...
@Sol4ris
Having been a fan of Rare since the N64 days--I was admittedly a ball of preteen anger when Microsoft stole them from my beloved Nintendo--I’m constantly baffled by the narrative that post Microsoft their games have been bad. Outside of Perfect Dark Zero (a pretty bad game) and being locked in the Kinect mines for too long (that’s definitely on Microsoft) I’ve enjoyed all their games, with Banjo: Nuts and Bolts, Kameo and Viva Pinata all being genuinely great. I still contend that those games, had they been on the GameCube, would be way better regarded.
Why are the american people still aying for Khan's masochism fetish?
@JetSetRennie
I liked most of Rare's 360 games as well. Heck, I didn't even think Perfect Dark Zero was that bad, but I know I'm in the minority on that.
@Spider-Kev Sea of Thieves is an absolutely incredible game that is still popular to this day. No doubt it is a steady stream of revenue for Xbox. I realize that people love their games but I would rather have Sea of Thieves than a bunch of collectathon platformers.
They are welcome to believe what they want to believe, but the reality is that this is going through, no doubt.
@RentedPanda Activision Blizzard has been terrible at treating their employees with some decency. Compare that to the glowing reviews by first party Xbox employees. If you just consider the positive change this acquisition will bring to employees... it is worth it. It also allows studios to be more creative and finish projects that would have not made it otherwise. (psychonauts 2 for example)
@somnambulance Sony has acquired 9 studios in the last 2 years. Tencent and Embracer have also been acquiring like mad. Acquisition is not something unique to Xbox in this industry. It has been going on for decades. What is damaging to the industry is not having competition. If Xbox is not allowed to make acquisitions, they would struggle to compete which would result in lower quality products for consumers. Stopping this acquisition would only be protecting the market leader.
@Kaloudz Loved that analogy! 😂
Anyone else so, so, so, very, very, tired hearing about this?
I said during the FTC trial that this was just a warm up for the real FTC case against MicroSoft. The FTC is determined to examine MicroSoft to see if it is too big and perhaps it needs to be broken up. Even after the ABK goes through the FTC is going hard and is setting up for the real battle….
@JetSetRennie
Perhaps I worded it poorly but my point was that to this day, Rare have not made something as impactful or big a hit as Golden Eye, Banjo or PD. I loved the Viva Pinata games, Grabbed by the Ghoulies or Kameo , all post Microsoft. In my opinion they are a very good studio even as part of Microsoft.
@GhanaViking With Embracer imploding, all those big acquisitions are hemorrhaging talent with massive layoffs. Jimbo Ryan is 'retiring' and Microsoft is busy grabbing everything it can. I never liked this deal in the first place. It's stupidly overvalued for a one-trick pony. Blizzard is a shadow of its former brilliance. CoD can only hold so much interest. It's like fighting over scraps. Why the FTC gives a crap, I neither know nor does anyone care, when they always only lose.
@CutchuSlow The FTC exists so that one company doesn’t grow so big that they monopolize one or more industries. The FTC case is that Microsoft with its large resources can use all its might to dominate and needs to be separate companies. For instance if Microsoft Xbox gaming was a company its financial might to make a 29 billion deal would be on the merits of a gaming standpoint
@Xbox_Dashboard
Embracer was expecting to get funding and that fell through. I think Jim Ryan's retirement isn't related to this either. Are there other studios that I would have preferred? Yeah, BUT this is also a way for Microsoft to get into phone games. Apple and Google (who opposed the acquisition) have a duopoly and don't want to give up any market space. I think this is good for both industries.
@GhanaViking
I do agree that corporate culture and quality of life should improve post merger. I hope it does!
@StonyKL All companies do that. Microsoft is doing this for the better. Competition is always better, better products, cheaper price products for consumers, better quality.
Microsoft is in a bad position with consumers.
Both Sony and others are planning trying to buy publishers and Studios. It just baffles me that people think it’s okay for one company to buy products and make exclusive but not okay for other companies to do it.
There’s more than Sony and Microsoft in the gaming industry. Make no mistake Sony is the market leader
@Deshalu At no point did I say it was okay for Sony to do it. Although off top of my head I can't think of any studios Sony bought that took established franchises away from Xbox. I'm sure there are some, just can't think what they are. Think the recent MS acquisitions are on a different scale. I also remember the good old Rare days and that acquisition wasn't good for anyone.
And in terms of competition, MS have more studios than all other gaming companies. More than Sony and more than Nintendo so they have more physical resources already. They really don't need any more to compete, they just need to run their studios better and produce better quality. That's how I'd prefer them to compete. Taking established franchises away from people Vs creating new ones isn't great for gaming in my opinion - although I appreciate you see it differently and time will tell if it turns out for the best or not.
Just to spite the FTC I hope there's a Santa skin as a GPU park for CoD
@GhanaViking I’m not arguing that the acquisition should be stopped. I do, however, believe that MS is purchasing a traditionally third party console-agnostic publisher in Activision rather than one that they’ve developed a relationship with in a way similar to Sony/Insomniac. It creates superficial competition in the gaming space as a financial competition rather than creative. Xbox competed against Sony just fine in the 360 era without needing to purchase publishers, in both a financial and creative way.
The FTC can do this forever IIRC, even after the deal is done. Scrutiny is necessary, but that goes both ways imo. The FTC was already told not to beat a dead (American) horse but they still manage to not comply until something comes up that rings any bells.
They already know about the leaked emails though (wanting to buy Nintendo etc.), no? Even though the FTC lost again in court, it doesn't seem to get the message moving on with other things like Amazon. I don't believe they have such a great flow of workforce to keep tackling several big cases day in day out.
Personally, I want to see if anything soon will change with my GPU sub and if several existing (and maybe future planned) developments can go further where they left off (+ safe environments for the devs ofco). I wonder how much money MS has to pay up outside the $69B or what extra deals they could have made concerning Ubisoft.
It also seems that consolidation is a walk in the park or easy money they can make, but doesn't seem the case at all (hence Embracer group)
Can Lana Khan green lit cases herself every time?
Anyway, Nintendo, Sony and MS need to exist "tous ensemble" so we can get the best prices. No digital only from PS or MS, Nintendo will not do that anyway or I'm a bad judge of some things.
I highly doubt the CMA are going to block again. They know their case is on thin ice. If they try to delay it past Mid-October, they'd need a really good reason, and that went bye-bye when Ubisoft bought the short-term rights to part of xCloud in the UK.
The CMA might take Microsoft to court independently to get them to spin off Azure, but for this case, their major argument is gone.
For the FTC, as Microsoft point out, it's just burning taxpayer's money to reopen the case. A judge literally went 'No, No and Hell No' over it all. All an 'in-house hearing' is, to me, is the FTC telling the FTC that the FTC is right to say what they're saying, and that they can dissolve the merger (good luck) because the FTC decided that the FTC had the right to do it.
No, that's not how it works. The moment this case leaves the FTC offices, they'll suddenly get a bunch more 'Hell No' statements and they'll try to reword it until someone says 'Maybe'.
@AlwaysPlaying To me it just looks like they're wasting taxpayers money. That is why I said they need to be extinguished. Maybe get replaced by a better team or they should use their own money.
@StonyKL Most companies can’t make it by themselves.
Rare was actually seeking an acquisition. Rare tried to get Nintendo to buy them but they said no, then asked Microsoft and they said yes.
Activision actually isn’t making as much as they used to. Call of Duty has been slowly going down hill. Development cost way more. Plus there’s more studios making call of duty now. Did you know 15 - 16 studios worked on MW2?
Activision Blizzard King wanted to sell before their stock would inevitable go down, even with the accusations and or miss treatments. Can’t blame Microsoft for jumping on an opportunity. Sony would’ve done the same thing, that’s why Jim Ryan wouldn’t answer the attorney when asked question.
Sony bought and with held Spider-Man, before anyone commits I already know the whole story but at the end of the day it’s the same thing. Almost all of Sonys studios were bought. Sony can and will keep buying studios and they are the market leader by almost 72%
I’m baffled by the stunning amount of naiveté on display. Microsoft is a behemoth with a checkered history to say the least, and any notion that they intend to act in consumers’ interest is pretty d*mn misguided. We’ll see how this plays in five to ten years, just like it has for the past thirty. When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
Sounds like Victoria Graham is a PS pony that will say anything to try stop this deal going through, lmao.. They don't like it because it's not them.. Really wish MS would use their HUGE $$$$$$$$ to end Sony once and for all but MS is for the people not itself.. If the boot was on the other foot Sony would do, they've already tried to hurt MS many times with their tiny wallet but MS just laughs it off, it's loose change to the mighty MS
@sheldonlufc Honestly, it’s statements like this that show how naive people really are. You would actually want Sony out of the industry and leave Microsoft to Literally destroyed it with zero competition? Amazing. I can only assume that you don’t buy games and just hang on every month to get games on GamePass… Well, if Microsoft were all powerful, the games on GamePass would be sorely lacking any kind of content. No matter what anyone thinks, this industry needs strong competitors. It’s what keeps innovation and that is only good for gamers. Honestly, some people…And “Microsoft is for the people, not itself” are you serious? That statement is one of the most deluded that I think I have ever read! 😂
@somnambulance you mean damaging for sony once cod starts to show up on gamepass and more so when 10 years passes by . This is opening more opportunities for people to play like there phone, tablet, smart tv. So yes it's damaging in the long run.......for sony and the fanboys
@y2jarmyofficial It also opens more opportunities for market consolidation where the big players continue to eat up publishers to retain IP rights, irrespective of Sony. As stated a couple comments above, Microsoft has a checkered past with consumer advocacy and many of the emails leaked from the FTC investigation show the monopolistic intent of these purchases. The damaging effect is that it sets a precedent for continuous market consolidation. Following this, we may see Tencent acquire Ubisoft, then Amazon acquire EA, Netflix acquire Take Two, Google acquire CDPR, and so on and so forth.
It is far healthier for the industry if it focuses on creating new content instead of gatekeeping what already exists. Xbox certainly has the resources to produce more content than their competition and more expeditiously as well. What could’ve happened for the brand had they invested the money they used to acquire Activision back into the games they have in development?
@Camble_Refuge You sound like a PS pony lmao
@somnambulance
You make the argument that the games like COD, Spyro, Crash, etc. existed on all platforms and then use Spiderman as an example for how it should be done? Spiderman is one of the MOST popular brands to ever exist. Although not developed by Insomniac, Spiderman games have existed on all platforms for decades before PS decided to make it an exclusive.
@GhanaViking Insomniac didn’t make Spider-Man before acquisition. They mostly made Ratchet and Clank. But your point illustrates the same point I’m making: Sony purchased the Spider-Man IP to bottleneck and control content rather than create fresh and new content in that case. This is an instance of Sony doing the same thing I’m arguing against. Both Sony and MS should be able to create new content and characters with their resources rather than gatekeeping established content.
@somnambulance good idea, tell sony that as well. They like to block games to appear anywhere else. Sometimes I have to wait a year till sony releases thier 1st party games to pc, at least with xbox it's released on xbox, xbox pc, and on steam. My phone counts as a platform as well to play starfield when that game cameout day one via the gamepass app.let Microsoft get Konami next, that way more people can enjoy silent hill 2 lol yet most ps fanboys ignore Sony's own shady practices.
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