On June 13, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was hit again.。According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed documents in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.。

Microsoft was confident in the early days of the acquisition

In the filing, the FTC said it was "necessary" to issue a temporary restraining order before determining whether the acquisition violated antitrust laws.。The deal deadline for Microsoft's acquisition plan is July 18, and the FTC's hearing on the plan is currently scheduled for August 2.。By then, if Microsoft has completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it will be more difficult for the FTC to intervene again.。But if the agency now appeals to federal court, it may be able to abort Microsoft's plans before the acquisition process is completed.。

For Microsoft, I'm afraid the moment it handed over its acquisition plan to Activision Blizzard in January 2022, how could it have imagined that the acquisition road would be so tortuous。At that time, the confident Microsoft even agreed to Activision Blizzard, if the deal is rejected, Microsoft will pay Blizzard up to $3 billion in sky-high "break-up fee."。Now, with only about a month left before the deadline for the deal to be completed, the prospect of the biggest merger in the game's history is becoming increasingly confusing.。

In March last year, under the high attention of the market, the FTC took the lead in asking Microsoft to provide information about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and to conduct an in-depth antitrust review of the acquisition.。In an administrative complaint issued on the same day, the FTC said Microsoft had a previous record of acquiring and using valuable game content to outperform rivals in the console market.。As a result, the committee is concerned that if the Microsoft acquisition is concluded, Microsoft may deny access to rival platforms by denying access, delaying availability, or reducing the quality of Activision Blizzard games.。

Indeed, Microsoft's manyIPIt has been coveted for a long time, and there are precedents for building a cross-platform game ecosystem.。Some analysts believe that if Microsoft's acquisition plan goes through, it will not be ruled out or some of Blizzard's blockbusterIPAs in Call of Duty (Call of Duty), World of Warcraft (World of Warcraft), etc., added to the already includedXboxGame consoles, halo series (Halo) andMinecraftPossibilities in the business of building software in the world。

However, in the face of questioning at the time, Microsoft was confident: its president, Brad Smith, even publicly stated, "We are confident in the acquisition and look forward to the opportunity to present its specifics in court."。"

With the passage of time, the number of market regulators questioning Microsoft has increased rather than decreased, and has expanded to overseas areas.。

Microsoft has paid a heavy price. At present, only Britain and the United States oppose the acquisition plan.

Last year7month, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also announced the opening of an investigation into the Microsoft Blizzard acquisition and expressed concern that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would further strengthen Microsoft and allow it to monopolize the industry.。This year2month, according toCMAThe results of the interim investigation released showed that the agency ultimately decided to block the deal because Microsoft's proposed solution consistently failed to effectively address the concerns of the cloud gaming industry.。

Last year, the European Commission11It launched an in-depth investigation in January and said the impact of the deal on competition was worrying given Microsoft and Activision Blizzard's respective positions in the software market and games.。At the same time, Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard may also prevent the acquisition of Activision Blizzard's console games andPCAccess to video games。

Not only that, as a competitor, Sony also jumped out at this point, saying that once Microsoft completes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it will take over the rights to the latter's games, including "Call of Duty" and other hot games may be completely monopolized by Microsoft.。Subsequently,FTCYu12Month formally sued over the deal。The commission argued that the deal would hinder competition in the video game industry.。

Microsoft finally can't sit still in the face of a crowd attack。In an effort to placate Sony and other regulators, Brad Smith said Microsoft has offered Sony a10The agreement to ensure that every new feature in Activision's Call of Duty series will be available in theXboxPlatform launch day synchronous landing SonyPlayStation。

MicrosoftXboxBusiness Leader Phil Spencer(Phil Spencer)also inTwitterAs stated above,“After the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the future10year will be on the Nintendo platform andSteamWith the Call of Duty series, Microsoft is committed to bringing more games to more people.——No matter which platform they choose to play the game。”

Microsoft's tireless efforts have finally paid off。Last month, China's General Administration for Market Regulation announced that it would unconditionally approve the acquisition.。Separately, the European Commission also announced on its official website that it had approved Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard in accordance with EU merger regulations。

It is understood that in order to get permission from the EU, Microsoft made two major commitments。

For one, Microsoft will offer free licenses to consumers in the European Economic Area, allowing them to stream all current and future Activision Blizzard licenses they have through any cloud game streaming service of their choice. PC and console games; second, Microsoft will also offer a corresponding free license to cloud game streaming service providers, allowing players in the European Economic Area to stream any Activision Blizzard's PC and host games。

Visible, from the transfer of "Call of Duty" synchronous landing SonyPSPlatform, and then to provide a wide range of free licenses, Microsoft has spent money on this acquisition road, and this acquisition drama also seems to be gradually reaching the end of the play.。in this month11Day held by MicrosoftXboxIn a media closed-door meeting after the game's showcase, Phil Spencer said there have been40Three countries have approved Microsoft's decision to buy Activision Blizzard, leaving only the UK in the way.CMAand the United StatesFTC。

At present, the U.S. market, according to media reports, forFTCOn appeal, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are now seriously considering maintaining the acquisition process or will ignore this administrative process.。

In the UK market, Microsoft's approach is even more simple and crude。Previously, the company Microsoft has publicly stated that it willCMAThe decision to appeal。There are also reports that ifCMAThe chatter is that Microsoft will consider pulling the Activision Blizzard game out of the UK market in a bid to similarly complete the acquisition if UK regulators refuse。

There is no turning back, and for Microsoft, which has paid a heavy price, there is no way out of this acquisition.。

From negotiating a game login platform amiably and promising free licenses to possibly ignoring administrative procedures and withdrawing from the UK market, Microsoft's attitude towards its competitors and regulators has changed。Predictably, this rip-off scenario is likely to grow as the acquisition deadline approaches。