The last few days have seen a lot of twists and turns in the battle between FTC and Microsoft in relation to the latter’s proposed acquisition of Activision – the publisher of many popular IPs, including Call of Duty. It’s already known that the US regulator has lost the case against the Xbox maker, after a verdict from Judge Corley more than a week ago.

However, FTC ended up appealing against the decision of the judge, which was also denied by the appellate court. Soon after, Microsoft and Activision announced the extension of the deadline for their merger agreement. And now, it’s been reported that FTC has decided to change its stance on the entire situation. To everyone’s surprise, it’s now open to settlement talks.

FTC wants to pause efforts on its in-house trial against Microsoft and Call of Duty publisher Activision

As per the recent report from media outlet Bloomberg, FTC is ready to put a pause on its internal trial against Microsoft. The regulator also seems open to settlement talks with Microsoft, according to sources in close proximity to the case.

All things considered, this is a positive change for Microsoft and Activision. Both companies are trying their best to close one of the biggest-ever gaming deals, worth billions of dollars. Earlier this week, they had asked the FTC to drop its case, which is scheduled for trial next month.

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As soon as the case is withdrawn, the Xbox maker and the Call of Duty publisher can seek the FTC commissioners to accept the settlement or to drop their stance against the merger completely. As of this writing, there’s been no response from Microsoft.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the merger agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard has been pushed to October 18, 2023. The previous date was July 18. Now that the two firms have got a lot of time, they will try to resolve all remaining issues with FTC and with CMA in the UK.

What are your thoughts on the newest update on the $75 billion deal? Do you think that it will be finished before October or will there be another deadline for 2024? Let us know in the comments down below.

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