Microsoft claims FTC's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard buyout is unconstitutional

Authored by eurogamer.net and submitted by mrEnglwoods

Microsoft has issued its response to the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The FTC has claimed the $69bn deal would let Microsoft suppress its games industry competition.

The company defended the proposed $69bn buyout, defended its previous acquisition of Bethesda owner ZeniMax Media, and justified its decision to make three future titles from the company exclusive to Xbox and PC.

One of its core arguments is the FTC's approach to assessing the acquisition is unconstitutional, specifically violating the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

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In Microsoft 37pg response to the FTC Microsoft states the FTC approach to the ABK merger is unconstitutional and violates Articles II, III and their right to Equal Protection under the Fifth Amendment pic.twitter.com/t9FQjZEc3P — Post Up (@PostUp_bbb) December 23, 2022 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings

Analysis by FOSS Patents suggests Microsoft is driving home the point that this buyout primarily concerns Candy Crush maker King and the mobile games market, not Call of Duty.

Crucially, Microsoft's strategic approach remains "sweet," stopping short of being extremely combative with the US government.

Indeed, in a statement to The Verge, Microsoft president Brad Smith said: "Even with confidence in our case, we remain committed to creative solutions with regulators that will protect competition, consumers, and workers in the tech sector. As we've learned from our lawsuits in the past, the door never closes on the opportunity to find an agreement that can benefit everyone."

Microsoft reiterated that it intends to release Activision Blizzard games day and date on Xbox Game Pass, something it is currently unwilling to negotiate with the FTC.

Unless both parties thrash out a deal, the lawsuit will go to court, where a judge will set a date for proceedings to begin, or dismiss the case altogether.

checkajay on December 23rd, 2022 at 20:45 UTC »

An interesting take I’ve heard on this is that since both Sony and Nintendo are Japanese companies, the FTC has a weaker case that Microsoft is monopolizing the gaming market

thereverendpuck on December 23rd, 2022 at 17:52 UTC »

In Microsoft’s defense: Jefferson didn’t write about it. So, checkmate, atheists.

josenight on December 23rd, 2022 at 15:38 UTC »

Ftc has been losing in most of its lawsuits anyway. They know the deal is going through. Probably by the end once they get concessions like cod being multiplatform they’ll have the “Thanks through the efforts of the ftc we protected consumers” speech even tho Microsoft was going to leave it multiplatform. Making a big show out of it for politics.