Microsoft's decision to keep Bethesda's games exclusive is 'powerful evidence' against its Activision Blizzard takeover bid, says FTC.
"Microsoft's actions following its 2021 acquisition of ZeniMax speak louder than Defendants' words," the filing reads.
In layman's terms, this statement from the FTC argues that the precedent set by Microsoft's previous acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda means the company could well make Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox platforms in the future. The filing continued to address Microsoft's own attempts to placate the agency, stating:"Defendants try to distinguish Redfall and Starfield as being unlike Call of Duty because those games do not 'materially feature multi-player play' or lacked 'existing cross-platform gaming communities'".
It continued:"Microsoft's ZeniMax decision is powerful evidence as to Microsoft's incentives here and should give this Court significant pause when conisdering Defendents' assurances that 'Microsoft intends to operate Activision similarly to other recent acquisitions...'."
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