Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft maker Activision Blizzard is likely to be challenged by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, according to an exclusive report from Politico.
The FTC is “likely to file an antitrust lawsuit” to block the $69B USD acquisition, the report notes, though the U.S. agency overseeing mergers and acquisitions has yet to vote on such a move or to meet with Microsoft or Activision Blizzard lawyers, a source familiar with the situation tells Politico. Politico also notes that an active investigation is “ongoing” and that the agency has already taken depositions of Microsoft chief exec Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO and Chairman Bobby Kotick.
This is the latest in a series of potential setbacks for the deal that would add Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and many other AAA titles into Microsoft’s catalog of games on its Xbox and Windows platforms. On Monday, Reuters reported that Microsoft will offer a series of remedies to European Union antitrust regulators in the coming weeks who are opposing the deal. Some of that opposition in the U.S., UK., and EU comes from fears that Microsoft will eventually remove Call of Duty from rival platforms like Sony’s PlayStation. Those remedies being offered, according to the report, would include a 10-year licensing deal with Sony.
While Microsoft has struggled to get approval in some of the most important geographical regions in the world, on Tuesday, it received what was described by Reuters as “unconditional approval” from the Serbian government. Serbia joins Brazil and Saudi Arabia, who gave an official greenlight earlier this year.