Home
Games
Games News
Activison Blizzard CEO Urges Federal Judge to Allow Takeover by Microsoft

Activison Blizzard CEO Urges Federal Judge to Allow Takeover by Microsoft

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a judge to stop the Microsoft acquisition temporarily in order to allow the agency's in-house judge to decide the case.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 June 2023 23:51 IST

Activison Blizzard CEO Urges Federal Judge to Allow Takeover by Microsoft

Microsoft has offered to license Call of Duty to rivals

Click Here to Add Gadgets360 As A Trusted Source

Highlights

Much of the testimony in trial has focused on Activision's Call of Duty
CEO said he considered making Call of Duty available on Nintendo Switch
The FTC, which enforces antitrust law, has taken a harder line on mergers

The chief executive of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, went before a federal judge on Wednesday to urge her to allow his company to be bought by Microsoft for $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,66,300 crore).

Kotick said that any effort to make Call of Duty exclusive to one platform, as Microsoft critics have said might happen, would alienate some 100 million people who play the game each month.

"You would have a revolt if you were to remove the game from one platform," said Kotick.

He said that removing Call of Duty from PlayStation, which is made by Sony Group, would be "very detrimental" to Activision's business.

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a judge to stop the Microsoft acquisition temporarily in order to allow the agency's in-house judge to decide the case. In the past, the side that lost in federal court often conceded and the in-house process was scrapped.

Much of the testimony in the trial has focused on Activision's Call of Duty, one of the best-selling videogames of all time. It is available today on smartphones, multiple consoles and on desktop computers.

Kotick said he had considered making Call of Duty available on Nintendo Switch but decided against it because he felt the console would not be a big seller. "I made a bad judgment," he said.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is scheduled to testify on Wednesday afternoon before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in federal court.

The FTC, which enforces antitrust law, has taken a harder line on mergers during the Biden administration. The agency says the transaction would give Microsoft, which makes the Xbox console, exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo and Sony Group out in the cold.

To address antitrust concerns, Microsoft has offered to license Call of Duty to rivals. It has also argued that it is better off financially by licensing the games to all comers.

The deal has won approval from many jurisdictions but has been opposed by the FTC in the United States and Britain's Competition and Markets Authority.

Is the Xiaomi Pad 6 the best Android tablet you can buy under Rs. 30,000 in India? We discuss the company's latest mid-range tablet on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.