Microsoft's Acquisition Of COD

Microsoft has been charged with a second complaint after one from the Federation Trade Corporation of the United States regarding its $69 billion acquisition of Activision, the company behind Call of Duty.

Countries that filed a suit 

Ten video game players from California, New Mexico, and New Jersey have sued Microsoft privately to stop the company from acquiring Activision.

According to the complaint, the acquisition would give Microsoft an inordinate amount of market dominance in the video game sector, enabling them to crush rivals, restrict customer choice, raise prices, and otherwise stifle competition.

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an injunction against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision earlier this month, expressing the same concerns that the deal would give the Redmond giant unmatched dominance over the video game business and that it would abuse its position to damage rivals.

Microsoft has often indicated its intention to make Call of Duty available to a growing number of players. Following its merger with Activision, Microsoft announced a 10-year deal with Nintendo to make Call of Duty available on Nintendo consoles as evidence, according to Spencer. The business has also promised to keep Call of Duty available on Steam in addition to Xbox.

Organizations 

Regulators from all across the world are closely examining the deal, though. The Microsoft-Activision merger has drawn the attention of antitrust authorities in Europe and the UK's Markets Authority. According to both organizations, the merger would give Microsoft the power to use its dominant position to harm competition in the market.

Sony's Agreement 

Sony is the "loudest objector" to the agreement, according to Microsoft. According to the company, Sony declined its 10-year offer to release the upcoming Call of Duty games on PlayStation and Xbox on the same day. Sony turned down the offer.

It is currently uncertain whether the Microsoft-Activision merger will be finalized by January 2023 as originally anticipated due to all the legal issues surrounding the transaction.