The U.S. Federal Trade Commission dropped a case seeking to block Microsoft’s $69 billion (roughly Rs. 591,491 crore) acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday it would not be in the public interest to file a lawsuit against the long-ended deal.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson is seeking to direct the agency’s resources to cases that fit President Donald Trump’s agenda, such as an investigation into whether advertisers colluded to reduce spending on X, first reported by Reuters on Thursday.
Ferguson is beginning to end some efforts launched by his predecessor, Lena Khan, including dropping a case on Thursday accusing PepsiCo of price discrimination in favor of Walmart.
On May 7, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lost an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s decision to block the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal, which is due to close in 2023.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday that the FTC’s decision to drop the case was “a victory for players across the country and a victory for common sense in Washington, D.C.”
When challenging a new merger, the FTC typically asks a judge to temporarily block the deal to give the agency time to challenge it in its own administrative courts. But deals that are temporarily blocked are often abandoned.
Although the FTC lost its case seeking to temporarily block the deal, the agency could have sought to unwind the acquisition at a trial scheduled for July.
The Activision Blizzard deal marks the largest acquisition ever in the video game market. The FTC claims the partnership will allow Microsoft to fend off competitors in its Xbox console and its subscription and cloud gaming businesses.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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