Microsoft Settles Gamers’ Antitrust Lawsuit Over $69 Billion Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Microsoft has settled the antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of gamers who objected to the company’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
As reported by The Wrap, details of the settlement were undisclosed, but we do know the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be filed again. Lawyers agreed that "each party shall bear their own costs and fees."
The lawsuit was filed back in 2022 in California by a group of gamers from across multiple states who expressed concern about the potential negative impact of a Microsoft monopoly in the video game space sparked by absorbing the makers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, among many other games. It came soon after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began its work to block the deal from closing, work that ultimately failed.
The lawsuit had claimed that if Microsoft were to acquire Activision Blizzard, it could lead to the company prioritizing Xbox versions of multiplatform games, prices going up, or the cancelation of certain games. There was specific concern about the potential impact on Game Pass subscribers should the buyout go through.
Since Microsoft successfully acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023, Game Pass has changed significantly. It’s slowly added Activision Blizzard games to the subscription service (with Black Ops 6 set to be the first mainline Call of Duty game to launch in Game Pass day-one later this month), but it’s also restructured Game Pass itself.
Day-one releases are now not a part of Game Pass’ revised basic tier, and big-ticket games such as Diablo 4, Starfield, and Call of Duty are reserved for the more expensive Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriptions. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also raised the price of Game Pass, most recently in July when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate increased from $16.99 to $19.99 per month.
The price increase was described as inevitable by analysts speaking with IGN, with some predicting that Game Pass will eventually see
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