Microsoft Responds to FTC’s Attempts to Block Its Activision Acquisition by Deeming Its Lawsuit Unconstitutional

Microsoft’s attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard received a major blow, when United States anti-competition regulators FTC blocked its move by slapping a lawsuit against the tech giants.

The FTC claim that Xbox parent company’s takeover of Activision Blizzard will suppress competition in the video gaming industry, which has largely been dominated by console manufacturers such as Nintendo, Sony PlayStation and the green brand itself.

Microsoft says what you’d expect:
– Doesn’t make $$ sense to take Call of Duty exclusive
– Wants to find conditions that’d satisfy the FTC

But, also: the structure of the FTC is unconstitutional and taking its case to its own administrative court is a violation of Article III pic.twitter.com/l5zH21ZE3k

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) December 23, 2022

Last week, Microsoft responded to the FTC’s claims in its 37-page document that details its reasonings behind its recent acquisitions, which includes the $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard King and Bethesda parent company, ZeniMax Media.

The document confirmed that following the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the company will slapping the exclusive tag on three of its future title. However, more importantly, Microsoft has claimed that the FTC’s lawsuit against the company is unconstitutional, as its proceedings violates Article II of the US constitution.

Similarly, the Redmond-based company has also stated that FTC’s procedures also violate Article III, and its rights under the Fifth Amendment of the constitution.

With the fate of one of gaming’s deals hanging by a thread, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft Xbox can pull off a blinder in successfully acquiring one of the biggest and most popular developers in Activision Blizzard King.