Activision Raises Alarm As FTC Considers Pausing Microsoft Takeover: 'We Don't See How This Will Continue'

Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard Inc's ATVI CEO, said that the company would probably walk away from the $68.7 billion takeover bid by Microsoft Corp. MSFT if the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) succeeds in obtaining a ruling that would pause the deal.

According to Bloomberg, Kotick made the statement during a federal court hearing in San Francisco on Wednesday, when he was testifying in favor of the deal.

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"My board’s view is if the preliminary injunction is granted, we don’t see how this will continue," Kotick told U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.

The FTC argues that if Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, it could significantly harm its competitors, such as Sony Group Corp. SONY, by excluding games like the popular "Call of Duty" from PlayStation consoles.

Kotick challenged this argument in court, highlighting that if the game was removed from Sony's device, it would be "very detrimental" to Activision's business. He then added that gamers would "revolt" if the top-selling game was removed from any gaming platform.

Moreover, on June 26, Xbox's boss and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, told Judge Scott Corley that he "will do whatever it takes" to keep the game on the PlayStation platform.

Spencer added: "We have no plan. I'm making a commitment standing here that we will not pull Call of Duty - it is my testimony - from PlayStation. As you said, Sony obviously has to allow us to ship the game on their platform. But absent any of that, my commitment is, and my testimony is, that we will continue to ship future versions of Call of Duty on Sony's PlayStation 5."

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