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Microsoft has been trying to acquire Activision Blizzard since January 2022 with one of the biggest numbers in the entire history of the gaming industry.
On December 20, a total of 10 Call of Duty players filed their own lawsuit against Microsoft’s acquisition plans. As a result, the official handshake is yet to be successful as Microsoft faces one obstacle after another.
After Microsoft's clash with the Federal Trade Commission, this lawsuit will be the second one they face. The presence of such obstacles has halted the acquisition's progress.
Let us take a look at the key information around this lawsuit and its impact.
Microsoft hit with another lawsuit as 10 Call of Duty players aim to stop Activision's acquisition
Lawsuit of the common people
Recent news has surfaced online through multiple social media platforms that a total of 10 gamers lodged a consumer complaint against Microsoft to bring a halt to the deal. The concerns that they have are similar to that of the FTC.
The group outlined that Microsoft acquiring Activision would provide a single company with a severely large dominion over the gaming industry. This influence could be used to raise prices and restrict their competitors from publishing games on Microsoft's platforms.
Another key point that the group shared is that there is no guarantee that such a humongous organization will not go back on their public promises. Producing and publishing long-running titles from a series like Call of Duty would allow Microsoft to slowly kill the market for others and put an exclusive tag on these products.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision
Microsoft officially announced their intent to acquire Activision Blizzard on January 18, 2022. The software giant revealed a hefty tag of $68.7 billion might go into this acquisition to cement the transfer of all of Activision’s resources and assume complete control.
However, the deal did not go through after both companies faced multiple difficulties, with some involving lawsuits. One of the biggest and most recent that Microsoft decided to fight was filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC raised concerns regarding the announced deal based on its impact on competitor companies. By acquiring a creator studio as large as Activision, Microsoft could eventually pull the chord on the competitors of the Xbox game console and its subscription plans.
More about Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a long-running series of first-person shooter games that has garnered a massive community with its engaging gameplay mechanics and breathtaking storylines.
The franchise has deeply entangled itself with the childhood of players around the world, and formed an emotional bond as a game that people grew up playing.
The acquisition of Call of Duty's creator by Microsoft has been a hot topic for quite a while. There are those who support it with the idea that the quality of their favorite games might improve in the future. Those who disagree are trying to stop this from happening at any cost, and now a few common players have taken the first step to do so.
