After years and a whole lot of money spent in trying to block or break up the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, the Federal Trade Commission has finally surrendered and dropped the case.
The white flag was metaphorically (and perhaps predictably) hoisted by the FTC in the form of an order published this morning that completely dismisses the regulator’s complaint.
It reads as follows.
“On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, FTC v. Microsoft Corp., 681 F. Supp.3d 1069 (N.D. Cal. 2023), denying the Commission’s application for a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. by Microsoft Corp.
The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, DISMISSED.”
This follows a long series of scathing defeats for the FTC, which has attempted to block or otherwise break up the acquisition consummated in 2023 since the complaint dismissed today was filed in December 2022, alleging that the acquisition had an anticompetitive effect.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, led by then CEO Jim Ryan, was one of the most active supporters of the FTC’s effort in that direction.
In June 2023, the FTC asked the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for a preliminary injunction that would block the acquisition before it happened, but Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied that request in July.
The FTC appealed almost immediately and requested another preliminary injunction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but that request was rejected once again.
After that, Microsoft managed to negotiate with the other prominent opponent, the British CMA, opening the gates to the consummation of the acquisition in October 2023.
More recently, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the FTC’s appeal against Judge Corley’s original decision, pretty much dashing the commission’s hopes to break up the acquisition.
While the hearing in front of the FTC’s own Administrative Law Court was set for July 2025, just a couple of days ago, the regulator’s attempt to exclude relevant evidence that would likely play in Microsoft’s favor was again denied by the Administrative Law Judge.
This brings us to today, with the regulator finally acknowledging that its case is hopeless and deciding to move on, closing one of the most controversial (especially among gamers) cases started under the tenure of former Chair Lina Khan, who resigned in January 2025 following the election of President Donald Trump.
