FTC v. Microsoft

FTC v. Microsoft
Court	United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Full case name	Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Court membership
Judge sitting	Jacqueline Scott Corley

Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a lawsuit brought against multinational technology corporation Microsoft and video game holding company Activision Blizzard in 2022. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sought a temporary injunction against Microsoft in their efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard.

In July 2021, The Wall Street Journal alleged that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick engaged in workplace misconduct. Several days later, Microsoft discussed acquiring the company; in March 2021, Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media for US$7.5 billion. In January 2022, Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard. The deal would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, raising antitrust concerns. The FTC began reviewing the deal later that month and voted to file a legal challenge to stop Microsoft from acquiring the company in December 2022. A temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction were requested before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in June 2023. Corley rejected the preliminary injunction on July 11, and the FTC appealed the ruling a day later. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the appeal.

On July 20, 2023, the FTC withdrew its lawsuit. The injunction presented a threat to the acquisition and could have ended it if granted in higher courts. FTC v. Microsoft would have been Microsoft's largest legal challenge since United States v. Microsoft Corp. (2001).^[1] On September 15, Microsoft uploaded hundreds of unredacted internal documents to the District Court for the Northern District of California's website, publicly revealing Xbox plans.