The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has withdrawn its in-house challenge to Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The agency had argued that the deal would create a monopoly in the video game industry, but it said on Thursday that it had decided to withdraw the case after “careful consideration.”
The FTC’s decision is a major victory for Microsoft, which had faced a number of regulatory challenges to the deal. In May, the European Commission approved the acquisition, and in June, a federal judge in the United States dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit seeking to block the deal.
The FTC’s decision to withdraw its case is not without controversy. Some critics have argued that the agency is bowing to pressure from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard and that the deal will still harm competition in the video game industry.
However, the FTC has said that it is confident that the deal will not harm competition. The agency said that Microsoft has committed to making Activision Blizzard games available on non-Microsoft platforms and that it has also agreed to not raise prices for Activision Blizzard games.
The FTC’s decision to withdraw its case clears the way for Microsoft to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The deal is expected to close in the next few months.
