Microsoft has settled the antitrust lawsuit, which was brought by a group of gamers against the $69b deal to acquire Activision Blizzard.
The details of the out-of-court settlement are still undisclosed; nonetheless, it is well understood that the case was disposed of through a stipulation with prejudice, which means that the case cannot be prosecuted again. Interview respondents who were attorneys also agreed that “each party shall bear their own expenses and fees.”
This legal action was filed in 2022 in California for a group of gamers from multiple states claiming they are concerned about negative impacts from Microsoft’s domination over the gaming industry consequent of acquiring the developers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, and others. This action came in the immediate wake of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning to marshal efforts to prevent the completion of the agreement, a move that was futile.
The suit also asserted that should Microsoft go through with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, they might do what has happened in other instances, including discriminate in favor of Xbox versions of multiplayer games or even increase the prices, or even stop the distribution of some games. Specific concerns were expressed to the effect that certain classes of Game Pass users may be impacted in the event of the merger.
After Microsoft’s successful acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023 changes have been observed in Game Pass. It has increasingly integrated Activision Blizzard games into the subscription service (although Black Ops 6 will be the first Call of Duty title in the main series to be released on Game Pass on the same day next month) but has also transformed Game Pass itself.
New games – such as Day One releases – aren’t part of the Game Pass updated base plan, and titles like Diablo 4, Starfield, and Call of Duty can now only be accessed through Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. Not only that, the cost of Game Pass has also been raised, which most recently happened in July when the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was increased from $16.99 to $19.99 monthly.
When Gale spoke with IGN they said that the price increase is necessary, some have predicted that Microsoft may start to add ads to Game Pass. Some of these changes are seen as a plan by Xbox to get back a portion of the $69 billion it spent to buy Activision Blizzard.
As a response, the FTC has objected to Microsoft’s Game Pass price hikes and referred to the latest Xbox Game Pass Standard as a “dumbed-down product.” The FTC stated that Microsoft was “exercising market power post-merger of Activision Blizzard with these changes,” to Game Pass.
Microsoft responded to the FTC’s filing concerning the recent increases in the Xbox Game Pass subscription fees, referring to the FTC’s claims as a “misleading clear attempt to create a distorted picture of events.” It also argued that the FTC was wrong to categorize Game Pass Standard as a ‘subpar’ version as it spreads out to include multiplayer modes.
Microsoft cut a mind-boggling 2,550 jobs from its gaming division as the global tech firm continued chewing off Activision Blizzard, and several studios are gone. Then, in February, the FTC stated that Microsoft was inconsistent with the statements it made during the Activision Blizzard acquisition when it laid off […] 1,900 employees from Microsoft’s gaming division in January.
FTC attorney Imad Abyad testified that Microsoft approached the company with the intention of causing Activision to operate as a light-tique integration studio. However, since Activision employees were the ones to be let go, Abyad argued this was the opposite of what Microsoft was previously saying. To this, Microsoft responded by stating that Activision Blizzard has planned other significant layoffs regardless of the acquisition.
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