Everything we learned from the Microsoft vs FTC hearing
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox
The court hearing between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft began yesterday, as the former tries to win a preliminary injunction against the latter's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The FTC has already been granted a temporary block until these proceedings have been completed. It's now pushing for tre preliminary injunction it requested on the belief that Microsoft and Activision planned to complete the $68.7 billion transaction before its own administrative hearing in August, which followed the legal challenge issued against the deal in December.
Naturally, much of the arguments have been the same as throughout this entire process, with the FTC arguing that Microsoft's ownership of Activision Blizzard will impact competition in the console space and affect consumers, expecting Microsoft to make Call of Duty (and other Activision properties) exclusive to Xbox.
Microsoft, meanwhile, argued the deal is about bringing more players to more devices, reiterated that it has offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms for at least ten years, and that the acquisition is more about Activision-owned King and the access to mobile it provides than just Call of Duty.
But beyond this, new revelations and insights in the various parties involved have come to light. Here are the highlights so far:
The hearing continues later today. Witnesses expected to be called include Xbox execs Phil Spencer and Jamie Lawver, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, and Dov Zimring, who previously worked on Stadia at Google.
If the court rules in the FTC's favour and temporarily blocks the deal, it will push Microsoft and Activision past the July 18
Read more on gamesindustry.biz
