Xbox and Activision: Microsoft’s response to the FTC defends the acquisition

With a 37-page document, Microsoft sent his official response to the FTC on theacquisition of Activision Blizzarddefending the operation in the face of accusations by the American antitrust and saying she is convinced that this should continue.

Microsoft doc responds forcefully to all the elements of doubt raised by the FTC, essentially pointing out that these are not even in line with what the very function of antitrust should be, i.e. safeguarding the ability to compete on the market, not the protection of a particular competitor specific (in this case Sony, presumably). It should be noted, however, that the document also argues that the FTC’s lawsuit is unconstitutional as it violates, according to the Microsoft lawyers, Articles II and III and the Equal Protection directive under the Fifth Amendment.

Beyond this, the document aims to show the current market situation and the fact that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would not substantially change the structure of this, without posing any danger of monopoly or upsetting the balance.

In essence, it is once again to demonstrate how Xbox does not have a prominent position and how it does not pose a risk to Sony and Nintendo, apparently.

The question appears quite evident by looking at the graphics that Microsoft has included in the document, quite explicit and visible above. These go in direct response to the FTC’s allegations that the acquisition would allow Microsoft to “suppress competition to Xbox and its rapidly growing content for subscription services and cloud gaming business,” the company reported. ‘antitrust.

In the document, Microsoft reiterates its willingness to expand, not limitthe availability of some Activision titles, in particular Call of Duty, also making them arrive on Nintendo Switch, as reported in recent days.

“While we continue to be confident in our position, we remain keen to find creative solutions with regulators to protect competition, consumers and workers in the technology sector,” he said. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft. “As we have learned from our past causes, the door never closes on the opportunity to find a settlement that benefits all.”

For its part, Activision Blizzard commented with a message from the CEO, Bobby Kotick: “There is no legitimate reason to prevent this transaction from closing. Our industry has a lot of room for competition and few barriers to entry. We are seeing more and more devices that can be used to offer a variety of games to play. Engines and tools are also freely available to developers, large and small. The breadth of distribution options has never been greater, we think we can finally make the merits of this operation prevail.”

The document also revealed that at least 3 Bethesda games are Xbox exclusives, based on reports from Microsoft speaking of the management of titles after previous acquisitions.