Microsoft tells judges its $69 billion Activision deal will benefit gamers | CNN Business

Microsoft Corp said Thursday that its $69 billion bid to buy “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard would benefit both gamers and game companies.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) made the argument in a filing aimed at persuading a U.S. Federal Trade Commission judge to allow the deal to proceed, after FTC commissioners said the merger would hinder competition in the gaming industry in a complaint this month aimed at blocking the deal.

In a complaint on Dec. 8, the FTC said it was concerned that Activision’s popular games, including “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo,” could potentially stop being offered on devices that rival the Xbox by Microsoft. He set a hearing before an administrative law judge for August 2023.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in mid-December that the company had offered to sign a legally binding consent decree with the FTC to offer “Call of Duty” games to rivals like Sony and others for a decade.

“The acquisition of a single game by a third-party console manufacturer cannot upend a highly competitive industry. This is especially so when the manufacturer has made it clear that it will not retain the game,” Microsoft said in Thursday’s filing.

Smith said in a statement this week that he was still confident in the company’s legal case but remained “committed to creative solutions with regulators.”

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement Thursday that he believes the companies will prevail in a legal fight with the trade commission.

The Biden administration has taken a more aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement. The US Justice Department recently blocked a $2.2 billion merger of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, and smaller rival Simon & Schuster.

The Microsoft deal also faces scrutiny outside the United States, with the European Union saying it will decide by March 23, 2023 whether to clear or block the deal.