Alright, so picture this. The Ninth Circuit? You know, those bigwig judges out on the West Coast, they just chucked out a case the FTC brought against Microsoft. Yeah, Microsoft trying to snag Activision Blizzard, the gaming folks. This was a whole legal circus, by the way.
So, this Judge Daniel P Collins – not a name you hear every day, right? – he said the FTC just didn’t cut it with their argument. They’re worried Microsoft might snag Call of Duty and keep it all to themselves, ignoring other platforms. But Collins (no relation to Phil, ha!) thought, well, the FTC didn’t really prove their point. Kinda like when you’re sure you left your keys on the counter, but they’re not there, and it turns out they were in your pocket all along. Classic.
And there was this Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley who earlier said, nope, let’s let Microsoft do its thing. Like that time you let your friend test their awful cooking on you because, hey, they might surprise you. Collins thought she used the right rules and stuff – legal mumbo-jumbo I won’t pretend to understand. Basically, FTC didn’t shake things up enough to sway the court.
Oh, and backtrack a bit – Microsoft first announced they were going to buy Activision Blizzard way back in 2022. Antitrust cases sprung up everywhere faster than mushrooms after rain. Mostly because, I mean, Call of Duty is kind of a big deal, and everybody’s side-eyeing Microsoft’s cloud gaming, wondering if it’s gonna eat up the little guys.
But, yeah, long story short, the deal got the green light in 2023. It’s like one of those movie cliffhangers where you’re not sure who’s gonna win, and then boom, the surprise ending. Crazy, right?
