Microsoft's Activison Blizzard Acquisition: The Complete Timeline of the News So Far

ign.com:

It’s been a little over a year since Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard. Since then, what looked to be another blockbuster acquisition appears far more uncertain as regulators in multiple countries scrutinize a deal that could potentially upend the video game industry.

While legal experts have maintained that the Activision Blizzard acquisition doesn’t constitute a monopoly (more on that later), it still marks a seismic shift in the video game landscape – and warrants an appropriate level of examination. But how did another day in the increasing mergers-focused industry become such a regulatory landmine? Read on for a full breakdown of how we got here.

Xbox announced via its official Xbox Wire site that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. All Activision Blizzard studios which include Blizzard but also Call of Duty developers like Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer would report to Xbox head Phil Spencer. The main thrust of the deal is that Xbox announced it would work to bring as many Activision Blizzard games as it can into the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

The deal was not immediate and Xbox did not provide a timeline for when the acquisition would be completed, but the news easily eclipsed Xbox’s last major acquisition, a purchase of ZeniMax Media in 2020, for what seems now like a paltry $7.5 billion.

Several months after the announcement of the acquisition, four United States senators including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission. This letter outlined concerns that the deal could disenfranchise current Activision Blizzard employees following allegations of sexual misconduct and other