10 CoD players are taking Microsoft to court to stop their Activision takeover
While Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard has already been met with pushback, a group of gamers are taking things into their own hands, filing a lawsuit against Microsoft to stop Xbox from dominating the industry.
Last January, Microsoft announced their shock takeover of Activision Blizzard with Xbox looking to pay almost $70 billion to take control of franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft.
The deal isn’t set to close until Summer 2023 but it first has to be approved by regulatory bodies around the world. Not only that, it has been met with significant pushback, particularly from Sony. Despite Microsoft insisting Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation and offering a 10-year deal, Sony still haven’t accepted.
Now, a group of Call of Duty players have launched their very own consumer lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming their Activision Blizzard takeover would create a monopoly and “substantially lessen competition.”
10 Call of Duty players from across the United States launched this consumer lawsuit on December 20, 2022, “seeking an order of the Court prohibiting the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard” by Microsoft.
They claim that if the deal goes through, “Microsoft may have far-outsized market power, with the ability to foreclose rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices, and further inhibit competition.”
Microsoft were quick to respond, with a representative telling Reuters that the merger “will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers.” Microsoft President Brad Smith chimed in, saying, “we have complete confidence in our case.”
There are still a few more hoops Microsoft have to jump through before they fully take over Activision Blizzard and start acting on plans such as bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch, so we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop with any future updates.
Image Credit: Activision