After nearly two years, Microsoft has officially settled with a group of gamers from around the US after buying Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The suit stems from the claim that after acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would be allowed to cancel premium titles and raise the prices of their catalog.
This suit was filed by gamers from multiple states across the United States after the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) also opened suit against Microsoft for the same issue. The FTC saw their initial trial paused year later and just a few months ago, issued a new filing after Microsoft altered its game pass. This is backed up with the fact the upon the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the Microsoft game pass saw go from 25 million subscribers to 35 million after the merger.
The suit with the gamers involves the same purpose as the FTC suit as they believe this will give Microsoft an opportunity “to foreclose rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices, and further inhibit competition…the proposed acquisition would give Microsoft an unrivaled position in the gaming industry, leaving it with the greatest number of must-have games and iconic franchises.”
On Monday, both sides came to the court and notified them that a deal was made to dismiss the lawsuit “with prejudice”, meaning the suit can never be refiled. Details on the deal were not revealed in court.
Joseph Saveri, a lawyer for the gamers, had this to say:
As time passes, Microsoft continues to increase its market power, prices have increased, games continue to be cancelled, development capacities continue to diminish, and Game Pass continues to trend towards a monopoly.
The deal that merged Microsoft with Activision Blizzard was completed last year and approved by a number of countries in the preliminary stages upon the CMA’s approval.