FTC Officially Drops Case Against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Acquisition

by
William D’Angelo
, posted 5 hours ago / 934 Views

Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023, however, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would file an appeal in December 2023 in an attempt to overturn the court’s decision to allow the merger to proceed.

Earlier this month, the appeal by the US FTC was rejected by the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals. The appeals court stated the FTC did not show that Microsoft would cut off rivals from having access to Call of Duty or that it would lessen competition in the video game subscription market.

The US FTC has now dropped its complaint against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition.

“The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case,” reads the order dismissing the complaint. “Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, dismissed.”

“Today’s decision is a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C. We are grateful to the FTC for today’s announcement,” said Microsoft president Brad Smith in a statement.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.