United States of America: Filed FTC order withdrawing complaint against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard

On 20 July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) withdrew its complaint against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, closing the case. The FTC filed a lawsuit against the acquisition, alleging that Microsoft has had a history of buying rival consoles and gaming content to suppress competition. Furthermore, the FTC alleged that Microsoft's acquisition could result in Activision's games only being offered on Microsoft-issued consoles, which could harm competition by manipulating Activision's pricing and availability and consumers by degrading the game's quality and player experience. On 10 July 2023, the District Court of the Northern District of California ruled that Microsoft is allowed to proceed with its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the ruling was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on 14 July 2023, denying the FTC motion for injunctive relief to block the acquisition.