Tag Archives: FTC

Last week, the FTC filed a letter with the court, claiming that Microsoft had begun abusing its market power by changing the way Game Pass works. Now, Microsoft has officially responded, stating that the FTC's argument is “misleading”.  As spotted by The Verge, Microsoft's response has now been filed with …

The FTC has spent much of 2024 building its case against Microsoft to get the Activision Blizzard acquisition overturned. This month, the FTC was provided with some ammo, as the regulator tells the US Court of Appeals that recent Game Pass price hikes break promises Microsoft made to get the …

Adobe has had a bit of a monopoly in the editing software space for a while now. With the launch of Creative Cloud and a switch to a subscription model for Adobe apps, many long-time users have complained about pricing and the subscription cancellation process. Now, the US government has decided that enough is enough, with the FTC filing a lawsuit against the company and two of the company's high-ranking executives.

Despite Microsoft already completing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and has made many concessions to get the deal approved by regulators across the world, the FTC is still hoping to reverse the transaction. In its latest appeals letter, the FTC takes issue with the recent lay-offs announced at Activision Blizzard. …

Yesterday we reported on a whole bunch of leaked Microsoft and Xbox details thanks to a mistake on the part of the FTC. Alongside an early look at the next version of the Xbox Series X and a dozen unannounced games, internal emails, documents and more were shared online. Now, …

As part of a bit of an oopsie by the FTC, many private documents shared by Microsoft to the FTC have now leaked, revealing all sorts of information on new Xbox consoles, unannounced games and a whole lot more. This leak has not only affected Microsoft but also its partners, …

In what is now undoubtedly a big news day for Microsoft, the FTC accidentally leaked a ton of internal documents shared by the console manufacturer, revealing plans for upcoming Xbox consoles, unannounced games and a whole lot more. As part of this, an email sent by Xbox’s Phil Spencer shows …

As part of a giant accidental leak by the FTC, many of Microsoft’s internal plans and timelines have been revealed for all the world to see. Alongside the revelation of a brand new digital-only Series X and a new next-gen controller, we also got a full list of upcoming and …

In what seems to have been a big oopsie by the FTC, a great deal of documents have leaked pertaining to the hearings regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. From internal emails to unannounced games and more, a whole boatload of confidential details seem to have been accidentally published for all to see – including the fact that Microsoft is planning to launch a cylindrical Xbox Series X refresh...

The ramifications of the Microsoft FTC hearings have been going on for ages now, with a bunch of interesting and new details being shared by all parties. One of the court documents shared suggests that Microsoft is planning its next generation of Xbox consoles to release sometime in 2028. While …

The Microsoft FTC hearings have been a huge source of news for the video games industry, with many internal memos and plans being exposed for all to see. One new tidbit of information seems to suggest that The Elder Scrolls VI will be coming only to Xbox and PC upon …

Earlier this week, a US judge ruled against the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the ruling, the judge stated that the FTC simply did not provide enough evidence to prove a theory of harm. Now, the FTC has announced plans to …

This week, a US court officially made its decision on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, denying the FTC's request to block the merger. This leaves the UK's CMA as the final hurdle against the deal closing and within an hour of the US court decision going public, Microsoft and the CMA announced a plan to pause their appeal battle to renegotiate. At the rate things are going, Microsoft could officially own Activision Blizzard as soon as next week. 

Earlier this afternoon, a US judge blocked the FTC's request for an injunction to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. With this loss, the only regulator standing to stop the deal from closing immediately is the UK's CMA. Within an hour of the US court decision coming down, Microsoft has …

The FTC's case against Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition finally entered federal court in recent weeks. While the UK's CMA wanted to block the deal on cloud gaming concerns, the FTC's case primarily focused on the deal's impact on Sony and the PlayStation business. Now, the judge has rejected the FTC's …

As part of the ongoing Microsoft FTC hearings, Sony is of course involved due to their vested interest in not wanting the Activision Blizzard acquisition to go through. Over the past week a boat load of documents, internal memos and more have been submitted, revealing previously-unknown details regarding these companies’ inner workings. Thanks to yet another legal document from Microsoft, we now know that a PlayStation 5 Slim could very well be releasing this year.

DayZ is one of just a handful of titles responsible for ushering in a wave of early access survival games on PC. The original game has been out of early access for a while now and thanks to documents revealed as part of the FTC VS Microsoft hearing over the …

Documents related to Microsoft's potential acquisition targets have surfaced through the ongoing hearing against the FTC over the Activision Blizzard acquisition. This document revealed a number of high-profile targets, including the likes of SEGA, Square Enix, CD Projekt Red as well as plenty of smaller studios.  Microsoft was indeed considering …

As part of the ongoing Microsoft FTC hearings, Sony is of course involved, with the console manufacturer sending a bunch of redacted documents to the court. Unfortunately for Sony, the marker used to censor the documents did not hold up to the scanners, revealing a bunch of information including just …

With each new generation we have seen the development cost of video games rise. Whether it be due to studio ambitions or player expectations, there’s no denying that video games have become more expensive to make. Thanks to some badly redacted documents, we know just how much some of Sony’s recent first-party games have cost to develop.

As part of the ongoing Microsoft FTC situation, a whole host of details have been released regarding Microsoft, but also its competitors. According to court documents, Microsoft believes that Sony’s recently announced Project Q streaming handheld will cost under $300. As shared by Axios’ Stephen Totilo via Twitter, part of …

This week has brought through another update in the ongoing saga between Microsoft, Activision Blizzard and regulators. This time around, the FTC has finally begun to move its feet, filing for a temporary restraining order to stop the deal from closing, as well as a preliminary injunction that would block …

Just recently, we heard that Sony is developing a PS5 Pro console, indicating that the PlayStation 6 should arrive sometime between 2027 and 2028. Now, regulatory filings have confirmed that Microsoft is also working on its next generation of Xbox hardware and services.  The FTC is currently suing Microsoft to …

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that the FTC is suing to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As part of the preparation for trial, Microsoft issued a subpoena to Sony, requesting a number of business-related documents. As expected, Sony fought back on this, but a …

In recent days and weeks we have seen an increased focus on the backlash surrounding Microsoft’s desire to acquire publishing giant Activision Blizzard. In order to help the transaction to pass, Microsoft previously claimed that they would keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for the next 10 years. Now, they …

The last week has been a rollercoaster for the gaming industry, as Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has continued to make headlines. A few weeks ago it was reported that the FTC would sue to block the deal, but then a subsequent report claimed that the panel scrutinising the …

Recently, it was reported that the FTC is considering filing a lawsuit to block Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the days that followed, Microsoft reportedly offered Sony a ten-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and is planning to make formal concessions in order to get …

Politico previously reported that the EU would enter a phase 2 investigation into the Xbox Activision-Blizzard merger. Now, the site is reporting that the FTC is planning on filing a lawsuit against Microsoft to block the merger.  The FTC has been stricter on anti-trust cases recently. The commission previously filed …

Back in February, a few weeks after Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, the FTC, along with other regulators across the globe, launched investigations to figure out whether or not the deal should be approved. Now, It looks like the FTC's investigation will soon come to an end.  The …

Any major acquisition over a certain value faces regulatory scrutiny, although recent changes at the FTC have empowered the commission over fears that big tech corporations are getting too powerful. Just as Microsoft is facing an in-depth investigation over its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony is also facing an …