Microsoft’s Activision Deal Hangs on Long-Shot FTC Accord Team Biden Hates
- Biden FTC blocked similar deals over proposed behavioral fixes
- Antitrust officials concerned about impact on cloud gaming
This article is for subscribers only.
Microsoft Corp.’s best chance to win approval for its $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. deal from US regulators is to persuade the Biden administration to accept a settlement in which the Xbox maker pledges it won’t withhold its popular titles from rivals.
That’s a very long shot given Biden’s antitrust enforcers aren’t fond of such agreements -- especially after this month’s Ticketmaster blowup put the spotlight back on a failed 2010 Justice Department settlement with Live Nation Entertainment Inc.