The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has officially lost its appeal in the ongoing legal case challenging Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, marking another legal win for Microsoft in one of the largest deals in gaming history.
The FTC initially sought a preliminary injunction in 2023 to block the merger while its legal challenge, filed in 2022, played out. The agency argued that Microsoft could potentially harm competition by restricting or degrading access to Activision’s content on rival platforms. However, a district court rejected the request, prompting an immediate appeal from the FTC.
That appeal has now been denied by a federal appeals court, which concluded that the FTC failed to show a likelihood of success on any of its antitrust arguments. According to the panel, the district court “properly denied” the injunction.
Despite Microsoft finalizing the deal in October 2023, the case is still under review in an administrative proceeding within the FTC. However, this latest legal defeat significantly weakens the agency’s position moving forward.
Both the FTC and Microsoft have declined to comment on the ruling.
