Microsoft can go forward with Activision Blizzard purchase after court rules against injunction

Microsoft can go forward with its $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard after a judge on Tuesday declined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request for a preliminary injunction. 

The judge’s ruling allows the tech company to move ahead with its plans to acquire the developer behind popular games like “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft.”

The FTC argued the merger could harm competition in the market if Microsoft, the company behind the Xbox game system, had control over popular video game franchises. 

District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, however, wrote that the FTC failed to make that case. 

“The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,Corley wrote as part of the 53-page redacted opinion. 

The deal could close within days. 

The FTC sued Microsoft last year to block the merger, and the case was brought to the agency's in-house judge. A trial is set to start on Aug. 2, but the FTC requested the preliminary injunction last month in an effort to block it from going through ahead of the regulator’s in-house trial. 

FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said in a statement the agency is “disappointed in this outcome given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles.” 

“In the coming days we'll be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers,” Farrar said.

Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith said the company is “grateful” to the court for “this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a  timely resolution.” 

“As we’ve demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns,” Smith said in a statement. 

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in a statement said the merger will “benefit consumers and workers.” 

“It will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry,” Kotick said.

--Updated at 11:44 a.m.