Microsoft has filed a response to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust lawsuit, which aims to block the company’s proposed $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The technology giant has pushed back against the FTC’s claim that the deal would harm competition in the gaming industry, stating that the acquisition would allow consumers to access Activision’s games on new platforms and in new ways.
The FTC had previously argued that the acquisition “would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.” The agency pointed to Microsoft’s decision to make certain titles from Bethesda (whose parent company ZeniMax it bought last year) exclusive to its own platforms.
In its filing, Microsoft admitted that it planned to make three future Bethesda titles exclusive to Xbox and PC, although the names of these games were redacted. It is known that Starfield and Redfall will only be available on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, while the FTC claims that Microsoft also plans to make Elder Scrolls VI an exclusive.
