FTC Halts In-House Antitrust Lawsuit and Merger Trial, Impacting Microsoft and Activision

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has suspended its in-house antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft's intended acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The FTC's temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction requests were denied by a US district court, and further appeals also failed. Microsoft's case has been strengthened by a deal with Sony guaranteeing Call Of Duty availability on PlayStation consoles for the next ten years. The FTC may re-file its administrative challenge, while negotiations continue to clear the block imposed by the UK's CMA.