Court rejects PlayStation fans’ attempt to stop Xbox Activision Deal
The Supreme Court rejected an urgent temporary injunction filed by gamers who wanted to prevent Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has been doing well with its acquisition plans for Activision. has won its legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission earlier this month. This is an important step. It still has to convince CMA that this deal is fair. The UK regulator had rejected it in April.
As Variety reported this week, a small group of gamers tried to prevent the purchase from happening by filing an emergency temporary order. Joseph Alioto was the lawyer for the group. He stated that the application said: “The merger of Microsoft and Activision will be among, if it is not the largest merger in technology history.
At a time where concentration of technology companies threatens the competitive balance in our economy, and our political system, this merger would have a major impact on the market.
Elena Kagan, Supreme Court justice, denied this request without any explanation on Tuesday, 8 July. Eurogamer reported the same gamers filed the federal antitrust suit against Microsoft in December last year – the lawsuit was dismissed by March 2023. The Ninth Circuit of Appeals also denied gamers’ requests for injunctions to stop the purchase earlier this month.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard extended the deadline for their merger agreement to 18 Oct. Yesterday, 19 July. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer tweeted, “We are optimistic and excited to bring more games for more players.”
