US government case against Microsoft over Activision Blizzard takeover starts on Tuesday

Tuesday is the first hearing in the US regulator FTC’s lawsuit against Microsoft for its takeover of Activision Blizzard. The FTC asks the judge to stop the takeover of the game publisher.

It is the first hearing in the case, but it is unclear when the American judge will hear the substance of the case. reports Reuters. With the case, the Federal Trade Commission wants to block Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard. The regulator fears, among other things, that Microsoft will only make Activision Blizzard’s games available for its own Xbox consoles or will only allow the games at a later time on other platforms, such as Sony’s PlayStation console. “Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from gaming competitors,” the FTC said.

Microsoft denies in comments that it will only release games on Xbox after the takeover and says that the takeover is mainly focused on the mobile games market, where the software giant has so far played a marginal role. Activision Blizzard’s range includes games such as Candy Crush and is a big name in the field of mobile games.

The takeover has been approved in Chile, but market authorities in other countries have objections. Authorities in the United Kingdom and the EU, among others, are investigating the possible consequences of the takeover. Microsoft wants to acquire the game publisher for $68.7 billion in what would be the largest gaming acquisition to date. The companies announced the deal last year.