Microsoft-1.47%
Activision Bl...-0.04%
Microsoft, FTC lawsuit given January pre-trial hearing
A United States judge set on Friday a pre-trial conference for January 3 in the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation. The FTC wants to block Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition of game maker Activision Blizzard, arguing that the transaction would ultimately allow "Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles."
Microsoft replied last week to the FTC's attempt at stopping the deal by saying "the acquisition of a single game by the third-place console manufacturer cannot upend a highly competitive industry." Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also defended the deal and promised to "win this challenge" in relation to the impending lawsuit.
At the start of the month, Microsoft vowed to bring the popular game "Call of Duty" to Nintendo, with Gaming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phil Spencer saying that the tech giants would continue to offer the game on Stream, alongside Xbox, after the deal is closed.