https://www.ign.com/articles/a-verdict-has-been-reached-in-the-microsoft-vs-ftc-trial
A judge has denied the FTC's request for an injunction on Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The Court said it "finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition".
Unsuprising.
I was following this case all week and the FTC really embarrassed itself. If this injunction was granted it would have been even more s suprising than the CMA coming out of nowhere to block the acquisition.
Were you hoping for the acquisition to be denied? I'm curious to hear if/why people think this going through will be bad.
Based on what? 4 games? Acti/Blizzard aren't the publishing powerhouse they once were. They have Warcraft, Diablo, CoD and Hearthstone. Yes, there is also King, but all that is f2p mobile jank.
Apparently King is the money-printing machine that this deal was primarily about, all the Activision/Blizzard games are just a bonus
I don't doubt this to be true, but all the attempts to block the deal have centered around Call of Duty.
That's only because of Sony. They're the only ones that kept bringing up CoD - accusing, without evidence, that MS is going to make it exclusive to Xbox.
Phil Spencer / Microsoft only ever talked about CoD in response to Sony's allegations - and that was to say they have no intention of taking CoD from PS and to offer long term deals as assurance.
And furthermore, to confirm that because they're a distant #3 in the market, cutting off Activision's biggest game from the current market leader would be a great way to cut off a big chunk of their new acquisition's revenue.
I agree completely, I actually want this deal to go through for a few reasons.
You are misinformed. List of IPs owned by Activision Blizzard: https://onemoregame.ph/activision-blizzard-ips-studios-microsoft/
Honestly that's only due to people not realizing the value of the Xbox Series Consoles, and the absolute STEAL that is Gamepass Ultimate.
You can't get a PS5 or Switch for 34.99 a month with 400+ games for free with it. Xbox All Access is 34.99 a month for 2 years and you outright own the Series X, and get 2 years of Gamepass Ultimate. It's the same cost as a Series X and 2 years of Gamepass Ultimate, but stretched out over 2 years. It's an absolute STEAL. Especially for PC gamers who want a cheap library expansion, and want a way to easily play a ton of games on their couch.
It's nice yeah but honestly it doesn't have the staying power like ps plus. Meaning I see games rotate out much more frequently on game pass than ps plus, and I own a series s and ps5 and have subs for both. The games PlayStation gets are frequently better quality than Xbox in ps plus extra than gamepass and gamepass is also filled to the brim with garbage low effort indie games. If your only need for gamepass is Microsoft's games then sure, but I would bet my ps plus library has much more monetary value. Also if you're buying a console through payments then maybe you need to take a step back and understand your financial priorities.
It's Interest Free, and I couldn't afford to save the 500 dollars for a Series X, but adding another 34.99 to the month to month budget was pretty stinking easy to do.
Has there ever been a point in history where the 3rd largest company has become the sole monopoly?
When was the last time such an acquisition led to something positive for gamers?
I am all for timed exclusives if that means Microsoft or Sony help funding the game that wouldn't have the budget otherwise. However I am against acquisitions, be it from Microsoft or from Sony.
The FTC showing why it damages Sony (the market leader) rather than trying to prove why it damages consumers was their biggest issue. Horrible case from them.
According to a separate article, it doesn't sound like there are any plans for it, even post-merger.
Just glad we're getting Starfield for now...
Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick also issued a statement: "Our merger will benefit consumers and workers. It will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry.”
He says, attempting a merger with an "entrenched market leader."
This is awful for consumers.
While I agree with the sentiment, not sure if Microsoft is a market leader in gaming?
Among Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft is bringing up the rear in console sales, but they own 20+ game studios, including Bethesda. What is that if not a market leader in gaming?
I'm not a market wiz but I think owning a bunch has nothing to do with being a market leader. Selling a bunch and being the best selling is what puts you on top.
Penguin Random House tried to acquire Simon and Schuster in 2022 and was successfully blocked by the Justice department
Is anyone actually surprised.
Give it 10 years, COD is gone from PS4
Not that I really love COD, but monopolies are bad.
Phil Spencer said he had no intention of removing CoD from PS5. He never mentioned what will happen when the PS6 comes out.
That's not true, they explicitly stated they were referring to Playstation as a whole and not specifically the PS5. You can look up the source.
The FTC and the judge aren't going to be "gotcha ya" by word games. This was a trail under oath not some nebulous PR statement.