Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal: Investigation verdict released

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Microsoft's purchase of Activision in 2023 was the most expensive video game acquisition of all time, and with that title comes a lot of regulatory scrutiny to ensure the deal didn't violate any antitrust laws that made the market unfair for competition.

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The $69 billion deal attracted considerable attention at the time and has certainly given Microsoft and its gaming brand, Xbox, a massive boost in the market. However, with a deal of this proportion, regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wanted to get involved to ensure everything was done legally. An investigation was launched into the deal. The investigation results have now been published, and Microsoft has been found completely clean of any wrongdoing.

Bloomberg's legal team delved into the details of the document posted by the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which stated in quite heavy language that Microsoft hasn't violated any antitrust laws with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, and most notably, the conclusion of the investigation will "reshape how the Federal Trade Commission reviews deals involving rapidly evolving technology."

For those who don't know, the FTC attempted to block the deal between Microsoft and Activision, citing the potential for Microsoft to make popular titles such as Call of Duty, among others, an Xbox exclusive title, stifling competition in the space, and reducing consumer choice. Moreover, the FTC claimed Microsoft's purchase of Activision would also enable Microsoft to gain a dominant advantage in cloud gaming and subscription services (Game Pass).

Despite these concerns, the court has found the FTC didn't provide enough evidence to substantiate its claims.

States the Document

"To varying degrees, the major console manufacturers have used exclusive content as a means to differentiate themselves in the console market. Some of this exclusivity is achieved by limiting the availability of a manufacturer's first-party games to its own console.

All major manufacturers have engaged in this practice. Microsoft has in recent years released its first-party games exclusively on Xbox and PCs, most of which use Microsoft's Windows operating system. As the district court found, however, Nintendo and Sony "both have significantly higher number of exclusive games on their platform than [Microsoft] does."