Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision progresses as judge denies FTC injunction request.

Judge denies FTC’s request to halt Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard

A judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Both Microsoft and Activision said they’d abandon the blockbuster merger if Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted the injunction.

Court ruling and future steps

“This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted — perhaps even terminated — pending resolution of the FTC administrative action,” Corley wrote in the ruling. “For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition. To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content. The motion for a preliminary injunction is therefore denied.”

Corley issued her ruling following a five-day trial in June that saw all manner of juicy gaming industry secrets and emails between industry leaders laid bare for all to see. For one thing, we learned that MachineGames’ Indiana Jones project was originally going to be a multiplatform game, but after Microsoft bought ZeniMax, it made the title an Xbox console exclusive.

Update: FTC Statement

Update 7/11 1:08PM ET: Added the FTC’s statement.