Microsoft is reportedly ‘ready to fight in court’ if FTC attempts to block its Activision deal

Microsoft is prepared to fight in court to ensure its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through, should the US Federal Trade Commission attempt to block the deal.

That’s according to a new report by Bloomberg, which cites a person familiar with the matter.

The claim follows the recent publication of a Politico report which alleged that the FTC was “likely to file an antitrust lawsuit” to block Microsoft‘s proposed takeover of the Call of Duty parent.

An antitrust lawsuit would mean that Microsoft would have to fight to push forward its acquisition of the Call of Duty maker in US courts.

According to Bloomberg’s source, in the event that the FTC does file a lawsuit, Microsoft is gearing up to contest that decision.

According to antitrust analyst Jennifer Rie, a court fight would be hard for the FTC to win, and Microsoft could win out- though a legal battle could push the deal beyond Microsoft’s expected completion date of June 30, 2023.

Activision Blizzard‘s CCO has also said the company “won’t hesitate to fight” to make sure Microsoft is successful in acquiring it.

It’s claimed that the Xbox maker is yet to have conversations with the FTC about potential concessions aimed at getting the deal approved, such as committing to releasing Call of Duty on other platforms for a certain amount of time.

Reuters sources recently indicated that Microsoft could offer another regulator, the European Commission, a guarantee that Call of Duty would release on PlayStation for at least ten years in order to get the deal approved.

While the acquisition has been approved by regulators in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, UK watchdog the CMA recently expanded its investigation to a second phase.

The European Commission has also officially launched an in-depth probe of the $68.7 billion deal, which would be the game industry’s biggest ever by some distance.