Microsoft Beats FTC’s Request for Preliminary Injunction to Block Activision Blizzard Deal

wccftech.com:

Microsoft has won its federal court battle against the US Federal Trade Commission. Four weeks ago, the FTC requested a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft's massive $68.7 billion agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard, the biggest deal in the history of the gaming industry by orders of magnitude.

With the deadline for closure set to July 18th, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California allowed for expedited proceedings and concluded the following:

After considering the parties’ voluminous pre-and-post hearing writing submissions, and having held a five-day evidentiary hearing, the Court DENIES the motion for preliminary injunction. The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets.

Over the 53-page-long document, the Judge said that the deal is actually pro-consumer in terms of access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. As she had noted during the hearings, on that count, the regulators have arguably already won without blocking.

[...] The FTC hasn't shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. [...] Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to, for the