If someone had said, a year ago, that 12 months after Xbox’s announcement of Activision’s purchase, the transaction would still fall through, we would hardly have believed it, but here we are. Xbox, Sony, and antitrust authorities remain locked in a lawsuit that at times seems to be drawing to a close, and at times seems far from resolved.
Just this week, Microsoft defended its position before the European Commission; both the EC and the UK CMA are supposed to make a decision no later than next month; and the trial between Microsoft and the US FTC begins in August, but according to experts that the US portal IGN consulted recently, the matter could take longer…much longer, and even end up in the Supreme Court of Justice.
Because? Very easy. Judgment is not the end of the legal process -neither, in fact-, and whichever party loses, may appeal, extending the conflict even further.
“Both lawyers [Sam] Castree and [David] Hoppe agreed that regardless of the outcome, the whole thing is going to take a while. Hoppe noted that although the trial itself is scheduled for August 2023, the losing party will appeal the decision to the commissioners of the FTC, the United States Court of Appeals and, ultimately, the Supreme Court itself. While Microsoft could cancel the deal, the FTC could cave in to Microsoft’s enormous resources, or the two could settle and end the matter prematurely, if none of this happens, this could take years.”
Microsoft, Activision, Call of Duty y la CMA
This applies only to the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which filed a lawsuit in December and whose process will take several months before even formally beginning.
That said, Xbox is also facing scrutiny from Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as well as the European Commission, both of which have submitted letters of observation and warning in recent weeks. For Activision, the ruling of the Markets and Competition Authority is even more relevant than that of the FTC.
Whatever the case, Xbox has been very active, closing deals with Nvidia and Nintendo that reflect their intention to keep Activision properties open to third parties, one of the most concerning issues for regulators and for Sony, of course.
