FTC to Block Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

In a press release today, the Federal Trade Commission announces that they are seeking to stop the acquisition of Activision by Microsoft almost a year after it was originally announced.

This comes just a day after the Head of Xbox announced that they would commit to bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles if the acquisition was approved.

The statement from the FTC reads “Agency alleges that maker of Xbox would gain control of top video game franchises, enabling it to harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services by denying or degrading rivals’ access to its popular content.”

It adds the following:

“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “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.”

When the Commission voted to issue the complaint their votes in favor were 3-1, with Commissioner Christine S. Wilson voting no.

What do you think about this update? Let us know in the comments.