Gamers sue Microsoft to stop it from buying Activision

Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of Activision has hit yet another bump in the road. Various regulatory bodies are questioning whether the deal should go ahead and to add to the US Federal Trade Commission's recent attempt to block the merger, gamers have now also decided to launch a lawsuit against Microsoft.

In case you missed it, the FTC recently voted in favour of filing a suit to block the acquisition on the grounds that it would make Microsoft too powerful of a competitor. It’s a case that PlayStation have been arguing for several months now. Microsoft may have offered them 10-year’s worth of access to Call of Duty, but this still suggests that the plan is for the franchise to eventually become an Xbox-exclusive. Well, fans are now letting their own voices be heard.

Speaking of Call of Duty, take a look at Modern Warfare II’s take on the iconic ‘All Ghillied Up’ mission below.

As pointed out by Kotaku, the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 gives Americans the right to sue companies over anti-competitive behaviour, which is exactly what 10 gamers have decided to do against Microsoft. Bloomberg Law reported that the complaint, filed yesterday, says that the gamers are concerned that “the [Microsoft and Activision] merger may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.” This would be in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

The complaint draws particular attention to the scale of the Activision acquisition detailing how many major franchises would fall under Microsoft’s control if the deal was to go ahead, including Call of Duty. It later states that Microsoft and Activision compete via the Microsoft Store, Game Pass, and Battle.net. The deal would threaten this competition.

The gamers argue that the acquisition would lead to Microsoft holding “outsized market power,” thus also harming and damaging competitors. Just a few months ago, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella was “very confident” that the deal would go through. Hm, I’d start rethinking that.