Microsoft has filed a 37-page response to the lawsuit by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking to block its Activision Blizzard deal based on anti-trust grounds. You can read FTC Sues Microsoft Over Activision Acquisition to get some background information about the case.
In its response, Microsoft portrays itself as an underdog trying to compete with bigger game makers, namely, Nintendo and Sony’s PlayStation.
“Microsoft is buying Activision to try to become more competitive in this expanding global industry. Its vision for the transaction is simple: Xbox wants to grow its presence in mobile gaming, and three quarters of Activision’s gamers and more than a third of its revenues come from mobile offerings,” it wrote.
Microsoft said that Xbox remains third, the same position it had started from 20 years ago. Its acquisition of the game maker is not to make games exclusive but more accessible to players. Additionally, it said that there are several hundreds of games in the market and buying one will not ‘upend’ the gaming industry.
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The Xbox maker further argued that Sony rejecting its game offers, including Call of Duty, is not enough reason for the FTC to hold the deal. Its argument is similar to what Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick had said.
“There is no sensible, legitimate reason for our transaction to be prevented from closing. Our industry has enormous competition and few barriers to entry. We have seen more devices than ever before enabling players a wide range of choices to play games. Engines and tools are freely available to developers large and small. The breadth of distribution options for games has never been more widespread. We believe we will prevail on the merits of the case,” he told The Verge.
However, Xbox did confirm that it would make three titles from ZeniMax studios exclusive to its consoles and PCs. Although, it said that these games were single player and made for small groups, meaning that it would not affect competitors. It further revealed that after buying ZeniMax in 2020, it still allowed one of its titles to be exclusive to PlayStation for the first year.
The game company really makes compelling arguments in its response and the public is starting to shift in its favour. We will still have to wait for the outcome of the case in court.
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