The console wars have become real as competitors Sony and Microsoft have been warring over Xbox‘s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. After previously being flagged by the United State’s Federal Trade Commission and enacting a trial, the FTC has announced that it will allow Microsoft’s acquisition of the Call of Duty and Overwatch developer to continue.
Xbox Head Phil Spencer took to Twitter to show his appreciation that the deal went through, claiming that FTC’s claims “didn’t reflect the realities of the gaming market.” In the following tweets, Spencer claims that the team has only doubled down on its commitment to bringing more games, signing new deals to make the titles more accessible than they already are.
Since both Activision Blizzard and Microsoft are American-based companies, it always seemed likely that the biggest threat to the acquisition was going to be regulatory boards like the FTC. However, the fact that the agreement has been approved by America’s government is likely to send shockwaves through every other court that’s currently considering the acquisition.
Previously, Xbox has committed to bringing some of Activision and Blizzard’s best titles to the Game Pass service, increasing their accessibility. Considering that Activision Blizzard still does business with Sony, the platform saw this as a competitive move to limit access to PlayStation, something that Microsoft has denied vehemently.
This decision is likely not the end of the road but serves as a major milestone and victory for Microsoft. There are still other courts that are deciding how to proceed with this acquisition, but the fact that the U.S. held a trial and found no wrongdoing will be noticed on the world’s stage and the gaming industry as a whole.
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