We admit it, our posts on the back and forth between the CMA and the FTC’s lawsuit against Microsoft have plummeted, so much detail is hard to keep track of on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes we don’t know if we’re even close to a story more suited to the Financial Times than the Xbox generation, but this time you’ll be just as surprised by the title as we are. I will give you a brief history.
A week ago, the FTC filed an expedited lawsuit to temporarily halt the merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard because they suspected they could complete the purchase without their clear consent. The complaint was accepted and the FTC managed to stop the purchase, but in exchange everything accelerated, with which only a few hours ago the witnesses that each of the parties will bring and be careful, because Microsoft goes completely with its upper plane.
Jim Ryan is actually a witness for both parties
In Tech Raptor They perfectly break down each of the witnesses, so we will list them quickly:
- Witnesses cited by the FTC:
- Phil Eisler (VP of Geforce NOW)
- Jeff Fisher (senior vice president of GeForce and Nvidia)
- Pete Hines (Senior Vice President of Bethesda)
- Robin Lee (Economics professor at Harvard University)
- Don Zimring (Former PM Director for Stadia at Google)
- Witnesses cited by Microsoft:
- Liz Bailey (VP and Charles River Associates)
- Sarah Bond (CVP and Microsoft)
- Dennis Carlton (economics professor at the University of Chicago)
- Amy Hood (CFO and Microsoft)
- Bobby Kotick (CEO of Activision Blizzard)
- Steve Singer (Senior VP at Nintendo)
- Witnesses called by both parties:
- Matt Booty (Head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft)
- Jamie Lawver (CFO at Microsoft)
- Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft)
- Phil Spencer (CEO of Microsoft Gaming)
- Jim Ryan (CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Tim Stuart (Microsoft Gaming CFO)
- Lori Wright (CVP and Microsoft)
As you can see, it looks like it will be very popular. This does not mean that we see everyone at the same time in the trial or that there is a kind of confrontation, far from it, but it is striking that Microsoft itself, through a spokesperson, mentioned the following:
Unlike Sony, our senior executives will testify in person to answer any questions about our business strategy. This deal means more options for players, a fact that becomes clearer as you investigate the matter.
The trial will start tomorrow the 22nd and all these hearings will take place until June 29th, so you will have to be very attentive because it has also been revealed that the trial will be broadcast, at least for the moment the audio of it has been confirmed .
