Microsoft responded to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit Thursday, saying its $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard would not hurt competition in the video gaming industry.
The FTC filed a lawsuit Dec. 8 to prevent the merger, alleging the deal would allow Microsoft to "suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business."
In a response to the suit, Microsoft argued that because it trails behind Sony and Nintendo in the gaming console industry, the acquisition would only raise its profile, especially with mobile gaming, and not stifle its competitors. Activision has some of the most popular gaming titles on the market, including "Call of Duty," "Candy Crush" and "World of Warcraft."
"Microsoft is buying Activision to try to become more competitive in this expanding global industry," the software giant said in its filing. "Its vision for the transaction is simple: Xbox wants to grow its presence in mobile gaming, and three-quarters of Activision's gamers and more than a third of its revenues come from mobile offerings.
"Xbox also believes it is good business to make Activision's limited portfolio of popular games more accessible to consumers, by putting them on more platforms and making them more affordable."
The FTC, which said the trial on the lawsuit is set for Aug. 2, 2023, is standing by its arguments.
"This $69 billion acquisition would give Microsoft the means to harm competition in multiple fast-growing gaming markets," said John Newman, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, in a statement Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal. "We are confident in our case and look forward to presenting it at trial."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.