A federal judge has blocked an attempt by woke tech giant Microsoft to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard, in a deal that would vastly expand the latter’s share of the video game market.
The FTC sought a preliminary injunction to stop the deal, and the court has agreed to a temporary restraining order preventing the acquisition while it considers the FTC’s request. Evidentiary hearings on the preliminary injunction request will take place on June 22 and 23.
cosplayers from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft ( Sean Gallup /Getty)
As Breitbart News has previously reported, regulators in the United Kingdom have already blocked the $69 billion acquisition, citing potential adverse impacts on competition in the industry.
Via Breitbart News:
In January 2022, Microsoft revealed its plan to purchase Activision Blizzard, making it one of the biggest deals in the history of the video game industry. By incorporating lucrative gaming franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush Saga into its content offerings, the acquisition aimed to strengthen Microsoft’s position in the gaming industry.
After the CMA expressed concerns that Microsoft might make Activision’s games exclusive to its cloud gaming platform, Xbox Game Pass, cutting off distribution access to other significant industry players, the regulator made its decision.
If the acquisition takes place, it will be another step towards the centralization of the video game industry — or at least the part of it that produces blockbuster titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
A successful acquisition will be seen as another win for Microsoft, which has benefited from a huge change in public perceptions of the company since it became associated with ChatGPT, the woke AI chatbot created by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
It will also mean more power for a company that has backed projects aimed at censoring and sidelining conservative viewpoints, such as NewsGuard.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.