The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint Thursday aimed at preventing tech giant Microsoft from buying Activision, which is also the creator of the “Call of Duty” game, in a $69 billion deal.
Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, announced in January 2022 that it had agreed to buy Activision for $68.7 billion in the largest acquisition deal in gaming industry history.
“While we believe reconciliation should have a chance, we have full confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to make our case in court,” said Microsoft chairman Brad Smith.
The Federal Trade Commission has pointed out that Microsoft has a record of suppressing its competitors by buying valuable gaming content.
“Microsoft has already demonstrated that it will starve its competitors of content in the gaming space. With this enforcement, we are trying to prevent Microsoft from hurting competition in the fast-growing, multi-dynamic gaming industry by buying the largest independent game studio,” said Holly Vedova, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. .
Shares of Microsoft and Activision fell after FTC enforcement.
