Report says US government will 'likely' challenge Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Ghost Gaze
(Image credit: Activision)

A new report by Politico says that the United States' Federal Trade Commission is "likely" to go to an antitrust lawsuit to prevent Microsoft from executing its takeover of Activision Blizzard. This is according to sources with insider knowledge of the FTC's operations, who say the FTC's investigation staff is "skeptical" of the companies' arguments.

Likely does not mean guaranteed, however, and the FTC's commissioners have neither met with lawyers for Microsoft and Activision nor voted on a formal complaint. The FTC declined to comment on Politico's report.

The FTC, under current Chair Lina Khan, has vowed to be tougher on mergers and acquisitions by already-large tech corporations, which they proved by getting involved in Nvidia's failed attempt to purchase ARM. The FTC started investigating the deal between Microsoft and Activision earlier this year when it was announced.

Microsoft's potential acquisition of Activision has been perhaps the hottest topic in this year's gaming news, and depending on who you listen to would be either a seismic shift in how videogames conduct business or a relatively minor change in power between the big-3 gaming console makers. An FTC lawsuit, however, would be huge, and keep the deal from finalizing for significantly longer—or not at all—while those arguments are tested.

Microsoft's lawyers have been broadly arguing that a single game series can't make or break a gaming console, while Sony's have recently stated to the UK's competition authority that competing franchise Battlefield "cannot keep up" with Activision's Call of Duty.

It also recently came out that Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal guaranteeing Call of Duty would be on PlayStation consoles. That'd give Sony an, at worst, pretty long length of runway to develop a proper Call of Duty competitor itself—but Sony hasn't had much to say publicly about that.

You can read the full report on the possibility of an FTC lawsuit on Politico.

Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.

Read more
Tencent
Tencent has been designated a Chinese military company by the US Department of Defense, which the conglomerate calls a 'misunderstanding'
Orc man looking pensively at camera
Former EA exec says the ailing mega-publisher missed a chance to snag Blizzard and other heavy hitters before Activision: 'EA saw all those first and passed on all of them'
US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. Trump signed an executive action he said would direct officials to create a sovereign wealth fund for the US, following through on an idea he floated during the presidential campaign. Photographer: Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Gaming's largest lobbying group says Trump's tariffs 'would negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans' and do serious damage to the videogame industry
Tencent HQ
Tencent says it's not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn't removed from a blacklist
Fortnite jacked Peter Griffin
Parents are suing Epic over Fortnite item shop 'FOMO' timers they say are inaccurate and manipulative
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
Google being pushed to sell off Chrome is likely a good thing, but don't cheer on the decision just yet
Latest in Call of Duty
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole
black ops 6 season 1
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 has been delayed, as the devs say they're 'taking the time to deliver a great experience' for what will be a 'big moment' for Call of Duty
A zombie santa with six fingers leaps at the screen.
Call of Duty admits it's using generative AI to 'help develop some in-game assets', and suddenly all those poorly made calling cards make sense
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover costs like $90 and even the die-hards are in shellshock: 'Cash cow-abunga!'
Ghost, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022), looks bleakly at a fellow passenger in a transport.
For COD’s sake: One player’s 763-day legal quest to make Activision unban their account ends in total success: ‘Worth the effort’
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 2 will let players battle on boats and bullet-trains, with the Terminator entering the fray 'shortly after launch'
Latest in News
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam