Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard. This is a thorn in the side of the U.S. antitrust authority, the FTC. The FTC has filed an appeal against the approval of the merger in an appellate court and has sent a scathing letter regarding Microsoft’s actions with the Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft is now responding to this. There are no disadvantages from the merger: PlayStation is doing well, PS Plus is operational, and Call of Duty can be played on PS5.
This is the situation: On MeinMMO, we reported on the fundamental situation on Friday:
- The U.S. antitrust authority, FTC, sued in December 2022 against the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. They believed that so much market power would be concentrated in Microsoft that it would disrupt the market.
- The FTC lost, and the merger of the two companies took place. The FTC has filed an appeal against this.
- Recently, the changes and price increases in Xbox Game Pass were seen as a clear sign of how Microsoft is abusing its market power and that it has broken previous promises.
Call of Duty is repeatedly a bone of contention in the deal:
Microsoft calls complaint “misleading” and justifies changes to Game Pass
This is what Microsoft says now: On July 19, lawyers from Microsoft sent a letter to the FTC. The letter was published on Twitter.
In it, Microsoft states:
- The FTC’s letter is “misleading” and shows that the authority wants to “reinvent” the case in its appeal.
- The changes to Xbox Game Pass are not a “downgrade” and it is wrong to call them that. The standard Game Pass for $14.99 now offers multiplayer functionality that previously had to be purchased separately for $9.99 a month.
- While the company did make Game Pass Ultimate more expensive, it now also offers much more value than before. It now includes the new Call of Duty, which has never been available before.
Microsoft emphasizes: PS Plus is doing well, Sony is doing well, the market is doing well
This is how Microsoft views the FTC: Microsoft states that the FTC’s original direction is no longer functioning. The FTC has focused its objections on the notion that Microsoft wants to prevent Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard’s flagship, from appearing on PlayStation.
However, this is not the case, as Microsoft has agreed with Sony that Call of Duty will appear on PlayStation for 10 years. Sony was “excited” to enter into this contract.
Sony’s subscription service, PS Plus, is continuing to do great anyway. Then comes a slight jab at PlayStation: Even if Sony is putting in fewer new games compared to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass.
Thus, the merger would benefit the market.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is probably one of the most important topics in gaming over the last 10 years. The FTC continues to fight against it. More background on the FTC’s battle and the disadvantages the deal brings for employees can be read here: Agency says: Microsoft has lied to them – Do they have to release Activision Blizzard?
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