FTC loses bid to stop Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition

A federal judge has denied the FTC's preliminary injunction against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard ahead of the July 18 deadline.

Because of the decision handed down by California judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, the company can close its $69 billion deal with the Call of Duty maker.

As reported by The Verge, this is contingent upon whether Microsoft is willing to close around the UK as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal back in April. Microsoft has appealed the decision, with a hearing set for July 28. Both parties may go to the negotiating table. In May, the European Commission approved the merger.

This means Microsoft will have access to various Activision Blizzard IPs such as the Call of Duty series, Candy Crush Saga, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Guitar Hero, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Skylanders, Spyro the Dragon, StarCraft, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, and Tony Hawk.

The FTC may appeal the judge's decision, as according to the government body, it will announce its next steps in the coming days. It is also still free to pursue its antitrust case against Microsoft.

In the meantime, the Communication Workers of America union (CWM) has released a statement, applauding judge Corley'sdecision to deny the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also issued a statement, saying the merger will benefit consumers and workers as well as "enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry."

Xbox boss Phil Spencer weighed in, stating: "We're grateful to the court for swiftly deciding in our favor. The evidence showed the Activision Blizzard deal is good for the industry and the FTC’s claims about console switching, multi-game subscription services, and cloud don’t reflect the realities of the gaming market.

"Since we first announced this deal, our commitment to bringing more games to more people on more devices has only grown. We’ve signed multiple agreements to make Activision Blizzard’s games, Xbox first party games and Game Pass all available to more players than they are today," he said.

Microsoft announced in January 2022 its intent to purchase Activision Blizzard for the huge sum of $69 billion.