WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2022) The US government will try to block Microsoft's deal to acquire game developer and Xbox maker Activision Blizzard amidst concerns it may suppress competitors, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Thursday.
"Today we seek to stop microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets," FTC Competition Bureau Director Holly Vedova said in a statement.
The $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard also includes the acquisition of its major war video-game franchise, Call of Duty, the statement said, adding that if the purchase goes forward, it would be the biggest in the gaming industry, and Microsoft's largest transaction ever.
FTC's concerns are based on precedent set by Microsoft after it acquired ZeniMax, a parent company of Bethesda Softworks, another major games producer. It had then assured the European antitrust authorities it wasn't going to withhold games from competitors but failed to its promise.
Microsoft purchase of Activision would allow it to manipulate pricing, degrade the game quality and player experience on rival consoles, harming consumers, the statement added.
"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," Vedova said.
Currently, Activision Blizzard has a combined 154 million monthly active users around the world.
