The US Federal Trade Commission has signalled its intention to block Microsoft’s potential acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. In a post on their website the FTC said that the reason that they plan to block the deal is because they believe it would allow Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content (Game Pass) and cloud-gaming business (Xbox Cloud Gaming). The FTC points to Microsoft acquisition of Bethesda and says that the US company decided to make several upcoming Bethesda games such as Starfield and Redfall Xbox exclusives, despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it would not withhold games from rival consoles. This means that Microsoft will have to take the deal to court if other countries say the same which will be a long drawn out process and will be a big set back for the company. Microsoft had said that they planned to have the deal finalised by the end of June 2023.
