The department believes that Activision Blizzard will help Microsoft gain market dominance and start hurting competitors
Recently, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed complaint in an effort to thwart a deal between Microsoft and Activison Blizzard. The department believes that the merger will allow Microsoft to establish a dominant position in the gaming market, which will seriously harm not only competitors, but also ordinary users. As a result, everything once again came down to Call of Duty, which Microsoft was going to appropriate entirely.
ActiBlizz and Microsoft, in turn, issued a lengthy response to the regulator’s lawsuit, calling the FTC’s fears unfounded and wrong.
“Purchase a game [речь опять о серии Call of Duty] the third most popular console maker, cannot influence a highly competitive industry.
The fact that Xbox’s dominant competitor has so far refused to accept Xbox’s offer does not justify blocking a deal that would benefit consumers. Providing consumers with high-quality content in a variety of ways and at lower prices — antitrust laws should support that, not prevent it.” – talk to Microsoft.
Microsoft also reminded once again that it is committed to respecting all agreements between Activision and Sony, as well as entering into new ones, if any.
Activison Blizzard’s attitude towards the FTC lawsuit is much more negative. The company believes that everything has been turned upside down in the department and is trying to “rewrite antitrust laws” in an effort to protect Xbox’s competitors from “hypothetical damage that has no basis in the reality of the market».
“The FTC is asking this court to protect the world’s largest gaming companies from further competition from Xbox and thereby overturn the antitrust law.
Blinded by ideological skepticism about high-value technology deals and competitor complaints, the FTC has not only lost sight of the reality of a highly competitive gaming industry, but also the fundamental tenets of our nation’s antitrust law.”.
