While the formal acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft was completed in 2023 after a long process between the tech giant and regulatory bodies, the United States FTC stated it would continue to fight it.

Now officially it seems this battle is over with the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals upholding the deal, saying the judge was correct in originally denying the FTC’s attempt to block the merger.

Originally reported on by Bloomberg, neither company given a statement in response to this matter. Given the silence from the FTC and now multiple court rulings, it’s likely this is the end of any attempts to stop the merger. 

Arguments against this merger stressed concerns about anti-competitive practices by Xbox considering Activision Blizzard has notable popular multiplatform titles, Call of Duty being the most famous example. 

However, it seems that Microsoft isn’t interested in keeping those titles off the competitor’s platforms like the PlayStation 5. With even their recently announced Gears of War: Reloaded set to launch on Sony’s console. 

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