The FTC seeks to impose injunctive relief on Microsoft pending trial.

Promotional image of the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft

join the conversation

Just like the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) did a few months ago, its US counterpart, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may be preparing to block Activision Blizzard King purchase deal by Microsoft, despite the fact that it already has the approval of more than 35 markets, including the European Commission.

As we can read through VGC, the FTC has filed a court order with which to block the agreement between Activision and Microsoft until the final resolution of the case, which would take place in August in a trial-like format.

Things get complicated again for Microsoft

The FTC has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California seeking injunctive relief. “Both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction are necessary because Microsoft and Activision have said they can consummate the acquisition proposal at any time without notice to the Commission,” the FTC said in its court filing.

“A preliminary injunction is necessary to maintain the status quo and avoid temporary damage to competition during the pendency of the FTC’s administrative proceeding to determine whether the proposed acquisition violates US antitrust law. A temporary restraining order is necessary to maintain the status quo while this Court decides whether to grant the requested injunctive relief.”

For his part, Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, assures that “today’s action by the FTC to file a lawsuit in our Activision case in federal court should speed up the process decision-making process,” which benefits all parties. “We always prefer constructive and friendly ways with governments, but we are confident in our case and we are looking forward to presenting it.”

While we wait for the court ruling to see whether or not there are injunctions or if that lawsuit that the FTC and Microsoft have pending is brought forward, take a look at the summary of the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 to see all the games that Xbox has on the way for the coming months and years.

join the conversation