The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco federal courtApplication for an injunction, thereby preventing Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard and creating a monopoly in the gaming market. Now the court has issued a temporary injunction that will restrict Microsoft from completing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard before the hearings on June 6 and 22, and within 23 days after the relevant ruling is announced.
Judge Edward J. Davila, who ruled on the temporary injunction, said that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard could create a market monopoly, affecting the quality, price, and innovation of gaming content.
Microsoft said it was aware of the court's temporary injunction and believed the ruling was reasonable, but it expected to take relevant actions to protect its own rights.
Prior to this, regional regulators including the European Union have approved Microsoft's acquisition. Probably only the United States and the United Kingdom have not yet agreed. The deadline for Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard is July 7 this year, so Microsoft should try to persuade the US Federal Trade Commission to approve the transaction before then.
