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The FTC sued Microsoft to prevent Europe from accepting the purchase of Activision Blizzard

That Microsoft has no fear of the FTC is a fact. The American company is not going to back down, and plans to go ahead with its attempt to buy Activision Blizzard, an operation that the American giant hoped to complete in the first half of this year, but it is clear that in the end this will not be possible. and that the lawsuit he has received from the FTC it will push it back to at least 2024.

The fact is that, according to new information shared by Bloomberg, the FTC also sued Microsoft as a deterrent measure, that is, it wanted to influence the decision of the regulatory bodies of the European Union so that they are not favorable to the Activision Blizzard purchase operation. It makes sense, and it fits even better when we see that some sources said that the FTC was not going to file the lawsuit until spring, but that it decided to accelerate its plans to press the phase of negotiations between Microsoft and the European Union.

Mark the direction to follow, act as narrator of the storyThat was the objective of the FTC with the lawsuit it filed against Microsoft, and this is what different sources “close” to the purchase operation confirm, although the source has not provided more information about it, probably to safeguard their identities.

According to the FTC, that acquisition would put Microsoft in a position of superiority not only in the world of video consoles, but also in that of subscription services, a clear reference to Game Pass, but also to cloud gaming. On the other hand, it is evident that, being an operation valued at 69,000 million dollars, it becomes the largest purchase in the history of the video game sector, and that this also attracts the attention of regulatory entities.

Other important objections have also been raised. One of the most relevant is that Microsoft could, by completing the purchase of Activision Blizzard, “suppress” its rivals in the world of video consoles and subscription gaming. Those who defend this theory demonstrate a certain ignorance of how this world really works, and cling to the belief that the Call of Duty saga alone can determine the success or failure of a game console. If this were true, Nintendo would not have taken the Nintendo Switch by storm.

This soap opera is far from over, there is no doubt about that, but taking into account that an important part of the income that Activision Blizzard obtains come from sales of Call of Duty on PlayStation I think that the story tells itself, and that in the end it seems that everything is being inflated in an exaggerated way. In any case, it is clear that Microsoft is going to have to “sweat” to complete the purchase of Activision Blizzard.

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