Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Microsoft $69bn takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard challenged by US watchdog

Microsoft $69bn takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard challenged by US watchdog

The Federal Trade Commission says the tech giant has a record of hoarding valuable gaming content, but the firm vows to fight the action and expresses "complete confidence" in its case.

A US competition watchdog has moved to block Microsoft's $69bn (£56bn) bid to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

The action by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) threatens the tech giant's plans to rapidly expand its portfolio of games and catch up with rivals.

Microsoft, which owns the Xbox console and game network platform, said the planned record-breaking deal announced back in January would help it compete with industry leaders Tencent and Sony PlayStation, which have both criticised the takeover.

Without Activision and its variety of games across mobile, consoles and PCs, the company could struggle to attract users to its subscription service for accessing games.

Signing up subscribers has become a priority for big tech firms as traditional growth areas such as ad sales becomes less reliable.

In its complaint, the commission, which enforces competition law, said Microsoft had a record of hoarding valuable gaming content.

It points to Microsoft's previous game acquisitions, especially of well-known developer Bethesda Softworks and its parent company ZeniMax, as an example of where the company is making some upcoming game titles exclusive to Xbox despite assuring European regulators it had no intention to do so.

Holly Vedova, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said: "Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals.

"Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets."

The agency set a hearing before an administrative law judge for August 2023.


Call Of Duty and Candy Crush are among Activision's games

Microsoft boss Brad Smith vowed to fight the move.

He said: "While we believed in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court."

US President Joe Biden's administration has taken a more aggressive approach to enforcement of competition laws.

The US Department of Justice recently stopped a $2.2bn (£1.7bn) merger of Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher, and smaller US rival Simon & Schuster.

The FTC said it was concerned that Activision's popular games, including World of Warcraft and Diablo, would not continue to be offered on a range of consoles, PCs and mobile devices.

While Microsoft has suggested concessions to address competition concerns, the rapid pace of change in the tech and gaming industries could render those conditions useless over time.

This month, in another move to avert criticism, Microsoft entered into a 10-year commitment to offer Call of Duty, the popular first-person shooter series, to Nintendo platforms.

Microsoft also made the same offer to Sony.

Microsoft owns the Xbox console and game network platform.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick told staff on Thursday that he was confident that the deal would go forward.

"The allegation that this deal is anti-competitive doesn't align with the facts, and we believe we'll win this challenge," he said.

He believed the companies' arguments would succeed "despite a regulatory environment focused on ideology and misconceptions about the tech industry".

The deal also faces scrutiny in the UK and Brussels.

An investigation by the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) was announced in July, and in September the watchdog decided there were enough issues to move the inquiry into a second phase.

In October, the public were invited to give its views on the buyout.

The CMA is working to a deadline of March 2023 to publish its final report.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×