A US judge on Tuesday denied Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for an injunction on Microsoft's $69-billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard, paving way for the largest deal for Microsoft and the biggest in the history of videogame business.
The acquisition has attracted scrutiny from several antitrust enforcers, including Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, over concerns it would hinder competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.
The FTC had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Microsoft from closing its deal ahead of a separate legal challenge that is due to commence next month.
Here is a snapshot of key events in the Microsoft-Activision saga:
Date Development
Jan 18, 2022 - Microsoft says it is buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion
Feb 1, 2022- Bloomberg News reports that FTC would handle the review of the deal
March 21, 2022 - FTC has sought additional data from Activision and Microsoft related to the antitrust review of their deal, the game developer says
April 28, 2022 - Activision Blizzard shareholders approve Microsoft's proposal to buy the "Call of Duty" maker
July 6, 2022- Britain's antitrust watchdog starts an investigation into the deal
Sept 1, 2022 - Britain's antitrust regulator says the deal could harm competition in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming, and it needs to be investigated in depth
Sept 7, 2022 - Sony Group Corp says the offer by Microsoft to keep the "Call of Duty" series on PlayStation for a limited time is "inadequate"
Sept 15, 2022- Britain's antitrust watchdog says it would launch an in-depth probe into the deal
Sept 30, 2022 - EU antitrust regulators set Nov. 8 deadline to decide on the deal
Oct 12, 2022- Microsoft says Britain's competition regulator had relied on objections from Sony in referring the deal to an in-depth inquiry
Dec 8, 2022- The Biden administration moves to block Microsoft-Activision deal
Dec 22, 2022- Microsoft says the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies
Feb 8, 2023 - Britain takes aim at the deal, saying it could harm gamers by weakening the rivalry between Xbox and Sony's PlayStation
Feb 21, 2023 - Microsoft strikes 10-year deal to bring "Call of Duty" and other Activision games to Nvidia Corp's gaming platform
March 1, 2023- EU regulators extend the deadline for the deal to April 25
March 8, 2023- Microsoft tells UK it will license "Call of Duty" to Sony for 10 years
March 28, 2023- Japan's antitrust watchdog says the deal will not harm competition
April 26, 2023- UK blocks Microsoft-Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
May 15, 2023- Microsoft wins EU antitrust approval for the deal
May 24, 2023 - Microsoft appeals against UK block on the deal
June 12, 2023 - US FTC asks court to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision
June 13, 2023 - A U.S. judge grants FTC's request to temporarily block the acquisition and set a hearing next week
July 11, 2023 - A U.S. judge turns down FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the deal.
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