Microsoft Rebuttal Fires Back At FTC’s Activision Deal Lawsuit – SlashGear

According to The Wall Street Journal, on Dec. 22, 2022, Microsoft filed a response to the FTC’s lawsuit that denies the possibility of any monopolistic practices, and argues that the acquisition will bring more competition to the industry. Microsoft’s argument partially hinges on claims that it is not the biggest console maker or game developer, and that by expanding its game library and bringing more offerings to mobile, Xbox and PC, it will be more competitive with bigger console manufacturers and game developers. According to statistics compiled by VGChartz, both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 have outsold the Xbox Series X and S consoles by a significant margin in the first 107 weeks of the availability of each. Between the Xbox Series X and S, Microsoft sold 19,687,577 units, while the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch sold 27,565,306 and 32,287,523 units respectively.

Microsoft isn’t the biggest console manufacturer, but Microsoft using its ownership of popular console titles is a valid concern. According to Newzoo, three of the top 10 most popular PlayStation 5 games in November 2022 were Activision Blizzard properties. In Microsoft’s response, it said that Xbox wants to grow its presence in mobile gaming because more than a third of Activision’s revenue is in mobile gaming. Before the lawsuit, Microsoft offered a 10-year deal for “Call of Duty” games to Nintendo, and promised to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch for the first time, according to CBS News.