The Federal Trade Commission had sued Microsoft to enjoin its
acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., owner of the enormously
popular Call of Duty video game franchise. The government
argued the merger would foreclose rivals and diminish competition
in highperformance gaming consoles, multigame content library
subscription services, and cloud gaming US markets.
In the console market, the FTC argued that Microsoft would make
Call of Duty exclusive to its Xbox platform or otherwise
disadvantage competitors such as Sony Group Corp.'s
PlayStation. In the other markets, the FTC asserted foreclosure and
monopoly entrenchment.
A district court denied the FTC's motion for a preliminary
injunction, and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
affirmed.
