U.S. Call of Duty players trying to block Microsoft’s Activision deal foiled again

Judge dismisses the case for a second time

Remember when a ragtag group of Call of Duty gamers tried to sue Microsoft for the company’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and was dismissed because they couldn’t bring enough factual evidence to show this would cause them harm? Well, after that setback in March 2023, the group brought an amended complaint to the court in order to proceed with the lawsuit.

However, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has also dismissed this second attempt at suing Microsoft, according to Reuters. Once again, she ruled that the group did not bring enough evidence to show that they would be “irreparably harmed” by Microsoft taking over the developer of Call of Duty. "The day after the merger they can play exactly the same way they played with their friends before the merger," she wrote in her ruling.

Corley added that there was no evidence that Microsoft would make future versions of the game into an exclusive title for its own platforms.

Joseph Alioto, who represents the group of concerned gamers, said the group would continue to challenge the acquisition, saying that there was “very strong” evidence that the deal violated U.S. antitrust laws.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has authorized an administrative complaint against the proposed merger with an evidentiary hearing set for August 2, 2023. Microsoft has subpoenaed its rival Sony in this context to build up its case.

Microsoft’s proposed deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has recently been approved by the EU’s regulators and was waved through by authorities in Japan, South Korea, and China as well. The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) refused to approve the proposal, however, saying it would harm competition in the developing cloud gaming segment. Microsoft has until May 24 to appeal this ruling.