Microsoft tells US court that its $69 billion Activision-Blizzard deal would greatly benefit gamers

During a court proceeding in a case that the US Federal Trade Commission brought against Microsoft for their acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Microsoft responded in summary to the allegations against them that its $69 billion bid to buy the “Call of Duty” maker would greatly benefit gamers and consumers, irrespective of the ecosystem they are already in.

Microsoft made the case in a brief intended to persuade the US Federal Trade Commission’s judge to approve the merger, after FTC commissioners said the transaction would kill competition in the gaming sector in a complaint this month intended to stop the merger.

In a complaint on Dec. 8, the FTC said its concern was that Activision’s popular games, including “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo,” potentially would stop being offered on devices that rival Microsoft’s Xbox. It set a hearing before an administrative law judge for August 2023.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in mid-December the company had offered to sign a legally-binding consent decree with the FTC to provide “Call of Duty” games to rivals including Sony and others for a decade.

“The acquisition of a single game by the third-place console manufacturer cannot upend a highly competitive industry. That is particularly so when the manufacturer has made clear it will not withhold the game,” Microsoft said in Thursday’s filing.

Smith said in a statement this week he was still confident in the company’s legal case but remained “committed to creative solutions with regulators."

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement on Thursday he believes that the companies will prevail in a legal fight with the trade commission.

The Biden administration has taken a more aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement. The US Department of Justice recently stopped a $2.2 billion merger of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, and smaller US rival Simon & Schuster.

The Microsoft deal is also facing scrutiny outside the United States, with the European Union saying it would decide by March 23, 2023, whether to clear or block the deal.