FTC Scrutinizing Microsoft-Activision Deal Despite UK Approval

The FTC still believes Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard is a “threat to competition,” an agency spokesperson said Friday. Microsoft closed the deal Friday after getting approval from the U.K.’s antitrust regulator. The FTC remains “focused on the federal appeal process” despite Microsoft and Activision “closing their deal in advance of a scheduled December appeals court hearing,” the agency said. Microsoft’s concessions to the U.K. are a “whole new facet to the merger that will affect American consumers, which the FTC will assess as part of its ongoing administrative proceeding. The FTC continues to believe this deal is a threat to competition.” The FTC withdrew its administrative complaint against the deal in July, after motions for preliminary injunction were denied by a district court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. As part of its agreement with the U.K., Microsoft agreed to sell the streaming rights for Activision's games to Ubisoft for 15 years. It also committed to keeping the newly acquired game Call of Duty on Sony’s PlayStation for a decade and offering the game on Nintendo Switch. The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority in a post Friday called the streaming concession a “gamechanger.” The CMA “made sure Microsoft can’t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market,” said Chief Executive Sarag Cardell. “As cloud gaming grows, this intervention will ensure people get more competitive prices, better services and more choice.” The U.K. regulator initially blocked the deal in April. “Today is a good day to play,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wrote in an X post Friday. NextGen Competition Executive Director George Rakis urged the FTC to continue scrutinizing and ultimately unwind the deal, citing Microsoft’s 20-year campaign blocking its U.S. workforce from unionizing. “The closing of the largest merger in tech history marks a sad day for competition, worker rights, and consumers,” said Rakis. Microsoft President Brad Smith in a blog post Friday reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its neutrality agreement with the Communication Workers of America, which will apply when the deal goes into effect.