If they do not reach an agreement, the thing will be decided in court.
Microsoft will pay nearly $70 billion for Activision Blizzard
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Just a few weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States positioned itself against the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft due to serious doubts about how this could affect competition within the field of video games if Microsoft decided, for example, to make exclusive franchises like Call of Duty or release lower quality products on competing platforms. As well as the advantage it would have in terms of streaming game after getting hold of the company’s catalogue. According to the latest reports, relations would not have improved between both parties.
A few weeks ago there was talk that the FTC didn’t even offer to sit down with Microsoft to work out a solution to the matter before issuing its ruling, and it seems that the negotiations would not have advanced much more since then. If they do not reach an agreement, it is likely that the thing will have to be decided in the courts.
Activision Blizzard purchase stalls
As reported by the Reuters agency, the FTC lawyer, James Weingarten, assures that there have been no “substantial” talks about any type of agreement with Microsoft, which would show that neither party is willing to give up their position. In this way, if an agreement is not reached, they would face each other in a legal trial which would be scheduled for next August.
If it comes to trial, as in the case of Epic Games and Apple, it will be a judge who has the last word on the subject after hearing both positions, but it is not necessarily the end of this story either. Whatever the verdict, there is the possibility of appeal by both parties, so the lawsuit could be extended until the end of 2023.
The Call of Duty team offers their views on Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard
Of course, the big apple of contention is Call of Duty, one of the economic giants of the industry. Microsoft has gone so far as to say that it doesn’t want to keep Call of Duty to itself, although it’s also not clear that it will be indefinitely. As for the FTC, those of Redmond assure that the decision to block the purchase of Activiasion Blizzard is unconstitutional.
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