The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has withdrawn a lawsuit to block Microsoft’s purchase of game developer Activision Blizzard. Earlier, the department asked the court to prohibit the completion of the transaction, since the parties made it clear that they could conclude it in the near future.
The regulator announced its intention to block the deal late last year. The commission then found that the purchase gave Microsoft an excessive advantage in the console and cloud gaming market. The deal was also blocked by the UK, but the EU regulator later approved the acquisition.
In June, the regulator asked the court to block the deal, as trial in this case in the FTC’s internal administrative court was scheduled for August 2 only. Thus, the commission tried to prevent the completion of the purchase until the decision of its court.
The decision to drop the lawsuit came after a San Francisco court rejected the FTC’s blocking request.
It was previously reported that the parties extended the deadline to complete the transaction until October 18. Microsoft’s plans to buy game developer Activision Blizzard became known a year and a half ago.
This week, Blizzard announced that it will release the game on Steam for the first time, it will be Overwatch 2. Before that, the company’s games were released only on its own Battle.net platform.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
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