Tag: Ftc
News Microsoft Says FTC Is Being 'Misleading' In Response To Xbox Game Pass Criticisms
"A misleading, extra-record account of the facts"
Earlier this week, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a filing as part of its ongoing battle against Microsoft and the Activision Blizzard takeover in which it criticised some of the recent changes to Xbox Game Pass. Specifically, the FTC's counsel brought up Game Pass's price increase...
News FTC Calls Out Xbox's New 'Degraded' Game Pass Tier & Price Increases
Microsoft recently hiked prices and announced a new 'Standard' sub
Update (Sat 20th Jul, 2024): Microsoft has now issued a response to the FTC, stating that the Commission is providing a "misleading, extra-record account of the facts". You'll find more details elsewhere on Pure Xbox: <related ids="169169"> Original story (Fri 19th Jul,...
News The FTC Is Concerned About Xbox's Recent Batch Of Employee Layoffs
Accuses Microsoft of being contradictory
Update: Microsoft has since responded to this, stating that "Activision was already planning on eliminating a significant number of jobs while still operating as an independent company." Here's an excerpt from the latest court filing: "Consistent with broader trends in the gaming industry, Activision was...
News The FTC Is Continuing To Fight Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
There's an uphill battle ahead!
If you thought we were done with these Activision Blizzard acquisition articles, think again! The deal might have gone through on Microsoft and Xbox's end now, but that isn't stopping the US FTC from continuing to put up a fight. As reported by Reuters and CNN, the FTC appeared in front of a three-judge court panel...
News FTC Continues To Challenge Xbox's Takeover Of Activision Blizzard
"How the FTC uses limited taxpayer resources is their decision"
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...
News FTC Denies Involvement In Huge Xbox Leak, Blames Microsoft Instead
"Microsoft was responsible for the error"
Update: Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley also appears to have suggested Microsoft was at fault, explaining that Microsoft provided a secure cloud link a few days ago containing files that were subsequently uploaded by the Court. Original story: As we've been covering all day here at Pure Xbox, the "biggest...
News Microsoft Activision Blizzard Acquisition Given Greenlight In US After FTC Loses (Again)
"This brings us another step closer to the finish line"
Following FTC's appeal of the previous court ruling permitting Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the US regulator has now lost again. The Federal Trade Commission was also seeking injunctive relief to prevent Microsoft from closing the deal but has been denied by the US Ninth...
News FTC Appeals Court's Ruling Permitting Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard
The regulator refuses to back down
Update [Thu 13th Jul, 2023 03:00 BST]: Microsoft's vice chair and president Brad Smith has now issued a statement, mentioning how the tech giant is "disappointed" by the FTC's appeal. Here's what he had to say: Brad Smith: “The District Court’s ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for...
News Xbox's Phil Spencer 'Grateful' For Speedy Court Decision On FTC Activision Blizzard Case
"I’m proud of our efforts to expand player access and choice"
The FTC has just lost its case to block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard purchase, and company executives are already out there on the internet, reacting to the news and providing statements on the matter. One of those execs is Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who has released a multi-post...
News Xbox Wins FTC Court Case As Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction
"The Court DENIES the motion for preliminary injunction"
It's official! Microsoft, Xbox and Activision Blizzard have won their court case against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, as the judge has denied the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction over Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard. Here's a sample from the 53-page...
News Xbox Could Expect FTC Injunction Verdict As Soon As Next Week
Hopefully it won't drag out
It's been a crazy week, with all kinds of stories coming out of the highly publicised FTC hearing, but it's finally over! If you weren't aware, the FTC and Microsoft have been in court regarding the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction, requesting more time to make a decision on whether to approve Microsoft's...
News Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Sees The Funny Side In 'Yakuza Phil' Meme
"I even laughed at myself in a coat and tie"
We've still got multiple days left in the FTC hearing regarding Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, and last Friday was a very busy day for Xbox boss Phil Spencer in particular, who spent multiple hours responding to various questions. Naturally, Spencer rocked up to the court looking smartly...
News Microsoft Is Literally Now Saying That Xbox Has 'Lost The Console Wars'
This is already getting ridiculous
It's going to be a long week, folks. Just ahead of the FTC hearing this week in which various Microsoft and Xbox executives will be attempting to defend the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has submitted a filing which actually mentions that Xbox has "lost the console wars" and its rivals are...
News Major FTC Hearing Begins This Week With Microsoft & Activision CEOs In Attendance
Along with many Xbox executives
Just a few days ago, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that it was filing a request for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, and the hearing is officially set to begin this week. Specifically, the dates that have been officially penned in are June 21st, which is when the...
News Judge Grants FTC's Temporary Restraining Order Against Xbox & Activision Blizzard
Preliminary injunction to be decided later this month
Earlier this week, the FTC filed a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injuction against Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard, and a U.S. Judge has now granted the request for that restraining order. The next step is for the Court to decide about whether to...
News FTC Requests Temporary Restraining Order Against Microsoft & Activision Blizzard
Along with a preliminary injunction
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced that it's filed a request for a temporary restraining order along with a preliminary injunction against Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. The FTC, which issued a lawsuit against the ActiBlizz takeover back in December, told IGN today that the restraining order is...
News Xbox Issues Lengthy Statement Following $20 Million Fine For Privacy Violation
"Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations..."
Xbox has suffered a blow this week, as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced that Microsoft has been forced to pay $20 million for a privacy breach involving children's personal information. In the
Video FTC Chair Questioned Over 'Remarkable' Decision To Side With Sony Rather Than Microsoft
"Can you explain why that seems to be a good idea?"
Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard was brought up in a Congressional hearing this week, in which FTC chair Lina Khan was asked about why the Commission had decided to "side" with Sony in relation to the deal. The question was asked by Tenessee representative Diana Harshbarger,...
News Microsoft Granted Access To Certain Sony Docs As FTC Continues To Scrutinise ActiBlizz Deal
Some access granted, some denied
Many of you have probably been following Xbox's ongoing Activision Blizzard negotiations, with Microsoft still trying to secure regulatory approval for its mammoth deal. As was perhaps expected, Sony has become one of Microsoft's biggest obstacles for the deal going ahead, and it looks like the PlayStation owner will...
News Microsoft Agrees Deal With Nvidia To Bring Xbox & ActiBlizz Games To GeForce Now
Phil Spencer has made a statement on the partnership
There's been another big acquisition-led showdown in the EU today, as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and other companies all meet to discuss Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal. One of those other companies is Nvidia, who've just agreed a deal with Microsoft relating to bringing Xbox games to the 'GeForce...
Report Google & Nvidia The Latest Companies To 'Express Concerns' Over Xbox ActiBlizz Deal
In line, behind Sony
The saga continues! In a new report from Bloomberg, it's mentioned that both Google and Nvidia are beginning to express concerns over the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal, although the two companies' interests seem a little different to Sony, which has continually argued against the deal going ahead for various reasons
News UK CMA Extends Deadline For Its Investigation Into Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
The wait continues
The Xbox ActiBlizz news just keeps on coming! After an FTC attorney just revealed that settlement talks between the US authority and Microsoft are yet to commence, the UK Competition and Markets Authority is back with an update of its own. The CMA has decided to extend its investigation period, meaning any ruling on Microsoft's...
Report Microsoft, ActiBlizz & The FTC Yet To Begin 'Substantive' Settlement Talks
The deal could end up in court
Earlier this month, the US Federal Trade Commission formally announced its intentions to try and block the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal, pointing at Microsoft's Bethesda exclusivity plans as a big reason for doing so. Ahead of a potential legal trial both parties could engage in settlement talks to sort this thing out...
"The FTC ignores the significant benefits of the Transaction..."
Strap yourselves in, folks — here we go again! Earlier this month, the US Federal Trading Commission announced it was filing a suit against Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard, and now Microsoft and ActiBlizz have revealed their responses in court documents. The...
News Microsoft President Talks 'Disappointment' With FTC Over Call Of Duty Proposal
Report says Microsoft's offer was "shrugged off"
The latest update on the Activision Blizzard deal has arrived this Wednesday courtesy of a report from Bloomberg, along with some comments from Microsoft President Brad Smith at the Microsoft Annual Shareholders Meeting 2022. According to the report, Microsoft offered to sign a lega
News EU Responds To FTC's Concerns Over Microsoft's Acquisition Of ZeniMax & Activision Blizzard
Update: New report sheds more light on the story
Update: Stephen Totilo of Axios has also been in touch with the European Commission today, shedding a bit more light on this story. You can some of the key information in the tweets below: Totilo goes on to explain that "if you look back at the EU report on the ZeniMax deal, it did state that...
News FTC Files Lawsuit To Block Microsoft's Takeover Of Activision Blizzard
The news we didn't want to hear
The US Federal Trade Commission has announced today that it's seeking to block Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stating that the deal would "harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services by denying or degrading rivals’ access to its popular content". In a...
News There's Apparently A 'Rift' At The FTC Over Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
Things might have swung in Microsoft's favour
It was reported recently that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was likely to file a lawsuit against Microsoft's attempt acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but there's now "hope" that the merger will be approved by the FTC instead. A new report from the New York Post says that the acquisition has...
Report US FTC 'Likely' To File Lawsuit Against Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
Uh-oh
Update: Activision has now responded to this report with a statement, revealing that the company "won't hesitate to fight to defend the transaction if that's needed". <related ids="141650"> Original story: More revelations regarding the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal have come to light in recent hours, with outlet
News Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Approved By Saudi Authority
The Asian nation is the first to publicly approve the deal
Since Xbox announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, official approval of the deal by nations around the world has been a key topic of discussion. The FTC is scrutinising the deal over in the US, while the UK CMA is taking a good long look at proceedings over here. Well, we've now...
News Xbox Says Sony's Concerns About Call Of Duty Are 'Simply Unjustifiable'
The fight continues
Scrutiny surrounding Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal is increasing, especially as Microsoft has seemingly submitted all of the required info to the FTC. While such a process is formality in a deal of this nature, we're now seeing Xbox react to other opposing parties. In the gaming space specifically, Xbox appears to believe Sony...
News Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Is Being Scrutinised In The UK
Under the microscope
With the huge Xbox Activision Blizzard deal still going through various phases, it's beginning to face scrutiny in various markets. The latest of which is the UK, where the region's Competition and Markets Authority is now looking into the deal and whether it could harm competition in the market. CNBC reports that the UK...
News Microsoft Wants To Create A 'Universal' Store That Works On Any Device
Console, PC, mobile... and more?
In the face of regulatory approval of its Activision Blizzard purchase, Microsoft is looking to change the way it operates. The company has laid out its plans for after the deal goes through, and it'll include a universal app store for all devices. By all devices, Microsoft means all devices. The vision, seemingly,...
News The Xbox Activision Deal Will Receive An Antitrust Review In The US
Will it pass?
So, it's already been a few weeks since Xbox announced its intentions to buy Activision Blizzard. Concerns over a 'monopoly' were brought up pretty much straight away, with many looking at how much Microsoft is growing its Xbox division. Well, according to Bloomberg, a review of the deal will go ahead in the US, conducted by the...
