In a ruling last week, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley expressed skepticism about the FTC’s claims that the merged company might remove popular game “Call of Duty” from Sony’s PlayStation platform or harm competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets. Microsoft has sought to address these concerns and solidify its commitment to keeping “Call of Duty” available on PlayStation for a decade if the merger is approved.
Taking advantage of the recent court ruling, Microsoft and Activision have filed a motion urging the FTC to withdraw its case. Under FTC rules, the agency is required to withdraw the case upon such a request after being denied a preliminary injunction. Following this development, the companies now have an opportunity to present remedies to the FTC, addressing the agency’s concerns about potential impacts on competition in the gaming industry. They can also attempt to convince the FTC to abandon its opposition to the merger altogether.
