Microsoft (MSFT.US)'s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is regulated and released, FTC withdraws lawsuit to end two-year game

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officially abandoned judicial efforts to prevent Microsoft (MSFT.US) from buying Activision Blizzard for 68.7 billion US dollars and withdrew the lawsuit against the deal after the appeal failed. This regulatory game, which continued for nearly two years, came to an end with the FTC's concession.

Microsoft President Brad Smith issued a statement on Thursday saying that the FTC's decision to withdraw the lawsuit was a “victory for gamers across the US and common sense in Washington DC.” The biggest takeover in the history of the gaming industry has been strongly opposed by the FTC since it was announced in January 2023. Regulators have feared that the deal would damage the competitive environment in the cloud gaming market.

Looking back at key points in the regulatory offensive: In July 2023, the US Federal Court rejected the FTC's preliminary injunction request to clear legal barriers for Microsoft; since then, the FTC has filed an appeal, but has not been able to reverse the situation. With the lawsuit withdrawn, the last regulatory hurdle for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was officially removed.

This tug-of-war reflects the strict scrutiny of tech giants' mergers and acquisitions by global regulators. It is worth mentioning that the dust has settled on Activision Blizzard's IPs such as “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush”, which may reshape the global game industry.