Microsoft Can Abandon Activision Blizzard Acquisition if Judge Approves FTC’s Injunction Request

One of gaming’s biggest deal is at the risk of being cancelled altogether, as Xbox might pull the plug on acquiring Activision Blizzard King. Microsoft’s gaming brand is currently battling it out against the FTC in the US Federal Court for a five-day hearing, which began yesterday. The hearing stems from the FTC’s attempts to gain a preliminary injunction, which gives the commission enough time to make a legal case against Microsoft before it closes the deal.

Microsoft Acquisition Attempt Hinges on FTC’s Injunction Request

“This is going to decide whether the deal goes forward,” said Beth Wilkinson, Microsoft’s lead lawyer told The New York Times. Wilkinson noted that if the injunction goes through, Microsoft will not be able to close the acquisition before the proposed date of July 18.

On the first day of the hearing, the FTC piled on Microsoft’s recent attempts to add more exclusives following its purchase of Bethesda and other studios through the ZeniMax acquisition.

At the end of the hearing, the federal court judge will make a decision on whether or not to rule it in the favor of FTC or Microsoft. If the judge favors the former, the deal runs the risk of being abandoned altogether.

On the other hand, the FTC believes that a win for Microsoft could see a dent in the competitive gaming market. “If this deal is completed, the combined company will have and is likely to have the ability and incentive to harm competition in various markets related to consoles, subscription services and cloud,” said James Weingarten, the FTC’s lead attorney in court.