It was revealed just minutes ago that Microsoft has won its case against the FTC as Judge Jaqueline Scott Corley denied the latter party’s request for a preliminary injunction. This is a monumental victory for Microsoft in the ongoing Activision Blizzard acquisition attempt – but blockers do remain in place.
Now, the tech titan will need to either contend with the CMA – which is the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom – or find some way to circumvent the UK’s regulations. There’s a hearing set to take place on July 28th in that respect, but today, Microsoft has won a lengthy and prolific battle with the FTC.
Is It Over?
Of course, the FTC is well within its legal right to request an appeal against the decision made today, but only time will tell if that indeed happens. For the most part, the world at large is accepting and approving of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, despite some competitors and regulatory bodies having spoken out against it in the past.
There’s one massive blocker now in the form of the CMA, but even that is set to be tackled with yet another hearing that’ll commence on the 28th of July. Now that the injunction has been shot down in the US, there are far fewer barriers preventing Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard as cleanly as possible.
In an email, the US Federal Trade Commission’s spokesman, Douglas Farrar, said:
We are disappointed in this outcome given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles. In the coming days we’ll be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers.
Are you tired of this ongoing debate, or are you excited to see what comes next out of Microsoft’s desire to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $69 billion?
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the claim that Homelander is coming to Mortal Kombat 1 soon
