Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard

[Abu Antar]

Didn't think they'd have the balls to block it.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Yesterday there was still reporting that the CMA approval was confirmed and that the deal was going through.

This must have been a big blow, especially considering that confidence on the Xbox brand is at an all time low. On social media the negativity around everything Xbox is widespread, not helped by the constant stream of fuck ups by Phil Spencer, who has mismanaged the brand into the ground and 10-1 playstation advantage in sales on some markets

 

[KIss My Ass]

Didn't think they'd have the balls to block it.

I think you'd have to be insane not to block it. M$ has shown nothing but incompetence and wrecklessness when purchasing studios for decades now. Every studio they buy either ends up dead or gets stuck making shovelware. They arn't any different from locusts. They destroy anything they touch. They destroyed alot of good game studios.

 

[Abu Antar]

Didn't think they'd have the balls to block it.

I think you'd have to be insane not to block it. M$ has shown nothing but incompetence and wrecklessness when purchasing studios for decades now. Every studio they buy either ends up dead or gets stuck making shovelware. They arn't any different from locusts. They destroy anything they touch. They destroyed alot of good game studios.

Yes, but the CMA, FTC, and the like do not judge those things. They judge other things. In this case, it has more to do with the cloud sector.

 

[pqt]

GamePass is the future. Digital stores killed physical media. Now it's time for cloud gaming to take over. Gaben and that Sony CEO better wake up and put more work into their product.

 

[KIss My Ass]

Only PC gamers can't buy physical media. Funny because they're always the ones spouting off about choice. They own nothing.

 

[potatojohn]

Furious Microsoft boss says confidence in UK 'severely shaken'

By Tom Espiner & Will Harris
Business reporters, BBC News

Microsoft's president has attacked the UK after it was blocked from buying US gaming firm Activision, saying the EU was a better place to start a business.
The move was "bad for Britain" and marked Microsoft's "darkest day" in its four decades of working in the country, Brad Smith told the BBC.
The regulator hit back saying it had to do what's best for people "not merging firms with commercial interests."
The UK's decision is expected to kill the billion-dollar deal.
The gaming industry's biggest-ever takeover worth $68.7bn (£55bn) would see Microsoft get hold of massively popular games titles such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and World of Warcraft.
US and EU regulators have yet to decide on whether to approve the deal, but the UK regulator said its move would mean it could not go ahead globally.
"Activision is intertwined through different markets - it can't be separated for the UK. So this decision blocks the deal from happening globally," the Competition and Markets Authority said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he wants the UK to lead the world in technology, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stating ambitions to "turn Britain into the world's next Silicon Valley".
A number of recent takeovers of British firms by overseas ones has increased concerns that the UK market is declining in importance, and is failing to attract fast-growing tech firms.

• Listen to the BBC's interview with Brad Smith on the Wake up to Money podcast
• Microsoft's big deal - what you need to know

Microsoft has already said the decision may have an impact on its UK investment.
In an interview with the BBC's Wake up to Money programme, Mr Smith said the company was "very disappointed" about the CMA's decision, "but more than that, unfortunately, I think it's bad for Britain".
"There's a clear message here - the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom."
He added that "English Channel has never seemed wider" in terms of the contrast between the UK and the EU.

IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption,
The Call of Duty titles have sold more than 400 million copies over the past 20 years
Mr Smith said the CMA's decision marked "probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain".
"It does more than shake our confidence in the future of the opportunity to grow a technology business in Britain than we've ever confronted before."
But on Wednesday the regulator said it was concerned the deal would hit innovation and give gamers less choice in the fast-growing cloud gaming market, where people buy subscriptions to access games online.
The UK government has made it one of its post-Brexit goals to bring in a "light-touch" set of rules for science and technology to encourage economic growth.
Mr Smith said that if the UK wants to bring in investment and make Britain a place "where technology is not only going to flourish, but be created", then "it needs to look hard at the role of the CMA and the regulatory structure".
He added that "people are shocked, people are disappointed, and people's confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken" by the CMA decision.

UK interests​

But the CMA said its decision means that a range of firms, "large and small", can "continue to compete in this rapidly growing market".
Its chief executive, Sarah Cardell, told the BBC's Today programme that she did not agree with Mr Smith's comments "at all".
"I think this decision shows actually how important it is to support competition in the UK and that the UK is absolutely open for business," she said.
"We want to create an environment where a whole host of different companies can compete effectively, can grow and innovate."
Microsoft and Activision have said they will appeal against the CMA's decision.
For the deal to work, it has to be approved by regulators in the UK, the US and the EU.
But it has fallen at the first hurdle. The CMA's decision may scupper the whole takeover.

Cloud gaming​

This deal is important for Microsoft because it wants to make its position in the fast-growing cloud gaming market stronger.
Rather than buying games consoles, then games to play on them, cloud gaming means fans can stream titles via the internet rather than owning physical copies.
Microsoft has already invested a lot in this space, as it sees the future of gaming as people playing on their phones, consoles, internet TVs and other devices.
The deal would also give it some very popular games titles to be able to compete more with the likes of Sony, which has consistently opposed it.
Sony's position is that Microsoft would have an incentive to restrict access to Activision's titles to PlayStation, which would be bad for gamers.
The CMA said Microsoft already had a 60-70% share of the cloud gaming market, and combining with Activision would "really reinforce" its "strong position".
"That would be problematic because it would really harm the ability of other competing cloud platforms to compete effectively and offer the kind of innovation and product choice that we want to see in this market," Ms Cardell said.

 

[Anthedon]

Well done Britain (a sentence you don't have a lot of occasions to use).

 

[Lucumo]

God, the amount of whining and crying by Microsoft is embarrassing.

 

[430am]

Only PC gamers can't buy physical media. Funny because they're always the ones spouting off about choice. They own nothing.

I own my hard drives which have the installers, files and copies of the games that I want, don't get all your games on a digital subscription platform that can stop providing services to you at any time and for any reason. Surprisingly, you won't have to whine about not owning anything. Physical media degrades without backups too, you know.

 

[Konjad]

Didn't think they'd have the balls to block it.

I think you'd have to be insane not to block it. M$ has shown nothing but incompetence and wrecklessness when purchasing studios for decades now. Every studio they buy either ends up dead or gets stuck making shovelware. They arn't any different from locusts. They destroy anything they touch. They destroyed alot of good game studios.

- American company and another American company want to strike a deal
- Britain: NO!!!
- American: Yeah, that's great, glory to the US! Best country ever! Another wonderful thing in this best country in the universe!

 

[Morgoth]

Microsoft wrong to say Activision deal block is bad for Britain - PM's spokesman​

By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Microsoft’s president was wrong to say the decision to block the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was bad for Britain and the European Union was a better place to do business.

“Those sorts of claims are not borne out by the facts,” the spokesman said.

The government would continue to engage with Microsoft but Britain’s antitrust regulator, who blocked the deal on Wednesday, was independent, he said.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Good choice, we don't need Microsoft dominating another industry.

Oh wow. It seems like Microsoft were so busy defending themselves against Sony on the Call of Duty front that they didn't think about this cloud gaming stuff: https://www.pcgamer.com/uk-regulato...quisition-in-potentially-fatal-surprise-blow/

UK regulators block Microsoft's Activision acquisition in potentially fatal surprise blow​

Microsoft says it will appeal the decision.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has unexpectedly moved to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard(opens in new tab) over concerns the merger would "alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market".

In a statement made today(opens in new tab), the CMA said "The final decision to prevent the deal comes after Microsoft’s proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector". Those concerns were raised in the regulator's findings last February(opens in new tab), when the CMA provisionally said it would oppose the deal over its concerns regarding cloud gaming.

So, clearly, everyone saw this coming, right? Not quite. Despite the dour prognosis that February's provisional findings seemed to serve up, the CMA underwent something of a U-turn(opens in new tab) last month, announcing that "a significant amount of new evidence" had convinced it that an MS buyout of Activision would "not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK" insofar as Call of Duty was concerned.

To many onlookers, that announcement appeared to set the stage for an approval this month, which would in turn clear the way for an EU approval in May(opens in new tab). But the CMA's concerns about cloud gaming look to have derailed that potential course of events.

The CMA said that Microsoft, which already "accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services," would "find it commercially beneficial to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service" in the event the acquisition went through.

"The deal would reinforce Microsoft’s advantage in the market by giving it control over important gaming content such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft," said the CMA. "The evidence available to the CMA indicates that, absent the merger, Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms in the foreseeable future".

The CMA said that the remedies Microsoft had offered to ameliorate its concerns were insufficient. In particular, the regulator was dissatisfied that Microsoft's suggested "behavioural" solutions would require the continued oversight of regulators like itself, "replacing market forces in a growing and dynamic market with mandated regulatory obligations ultimately overseen, and enforced by, the CMA". The regulator summed up its issues with Microsoft's remedies in three key points:

• "It did not sufficiently cover different cloud gaming service business models, including multigame subscription services".
• "It was not sufficiently open to providers who might wish to offer versions of games on PC operating systems other than Windows".
• "It would standardise the terms and conditions on which games are available, as opposed to them being determined by the dynamism and creativity of competition in the market, as would be expected in the absence of the merger".

The CMA also decided that the addition of Activision Blizzard games to Game Pass "would not outweigh the overall harm to competition (and, ultimately, UK gamers)".

Activision shares have fallen 11% off the back of the announcement, the FT reports(opens in new tab).

I've contacted Microsoft and Activision for comment on the decision, and I'll update this piece if I hear back. But the FT reports that Microsoft vice president Brad Smith has said that the corporation "remains fully committed to this acquisition and will appeal" the CMA ruling, and warned that the decision "discourages technology innovation and investment in the United Kingdom". He criticised the UK regulator for "a flawed understanding of this market and the way the relevant cloud technology actually works".

An Activision shareholder spoken to by the FT reportedly told the outlet that, "at the end of the day, this deal is dead already. It’s a zombie-deal now".

It's interesting that the CMA has centred its concerns on cloud gaming in particular, given that so much of the criticism levelled against the deal by Sony—probably the acquisition's chief opponent—has instead revolved around the access to Call of Duty.

It's doubly interesting given that one of Microsoft's own competitors in the cloud gaming space, Nvidia, has appeared to be supportive of the acquisition, and even signed a ten-year deal with Microsoft(opens in new tab) to keep bringing Activision's games to Nvidia platforms.

I've reached out to Nvidia about the CMA decision, too, and will update if I hear back.

It's too early to tell if this is a stake through the heart of the Activision acquisition, particularly in light of Microsoft's commitment to appeal, but it's certainly going to be unwelcome news in both companies' offices. I imagine that, right now, the corporations will be scrambling to prevent a domino effect: The possibility that the UK's refusal might prompt the EU (and US, especially given the FTC's past hostility to the deal(opens in new tab)) to do the same.

https://www.eurogamer.net/cma-decis...oft-deal-insists-activision-boss-bobby-kotick

CMA decision "far from the final word" on Microsoft deal, insists Activision boss Bobby Kotick​

"We're confident in our case."

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has responded to this morning's stunning decision by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block Microsoft's $69bn acquisition deal.

In an internal email, published publicly, Kotick stated the result "isn't the news we wanted - but it is far from the final word on this deal".

He also confirmed that the decision will be contested, alongside Microsoft. "We're confident in our case because the facts are on our side: this deal is good for competition," he said.

Much of Kotick's response focused on the benefits this merger would bring to the UK's tech market.

"At a time when the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence are thriving, we know the UK market would benefit from Microsoft's bench strength in both domains, as well as our ability to put those technologies to use immediately," said Kotick.

"By contrast, if the CMA's decision holds, it would stifle investment, competition, and job creation throughout the UK gaming industry."

This mirror's a similar statement on Twitter from the company's EVP of corporate affairs and CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey: "This report is also a disservice to UK citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects, and we will need to reassess our growth strategy in the UK."

Kotick continued: "This merger is a complex process, and I know I'm not the only one frustrated by the hurdles and delays. We're accustomed to a company culture that moves quickly to accomplish big goals, so it's tough when we can't close things out at our usual energetic pace. We'll keep pressing our case, because we know that this merger will benefit our employees, the broader UK tech workforce, and players around the world.

"I'm going to do everything I personally can to advocate for us and help regulators understand the competitive dynamics in our industry. What gives me confidence is that, whether on our own or united with another company, we are one of the strongest companies in our industry, poised for continued growth, and building on our incredible IP."

The CMA's decision today comes as a shock, following its recent provisional findings that the merger "will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK", though concerns remained about competition in cloud gaming. It's those concerns that form the basis of its rejection.

They're crying about it all over the news.

To be fair I forgot all about the cloud gaming shite as well, but the CMA's case is rock solid. Can't see that appeal going anywhere.

MicroZOG are threatening UK 'investment' as well, so that tells you it was absolutely the right decision.

Classic microsoft, they're getting their shit pushed in by Nintendo and Sony, so they sought to obliterate and dominate rather than compete.

 

[Modron]

Classic microsoft, they're getting their shit pushed in by Nintendo and Sony, so they sought to obliterate and dominate rather than compete.

So when are they going to break up nintendo and sony for being bigger than this "monopoloid" company the microsoft+activision merger would have created.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

When they attempt a 70bn ZOGbux merger.

 

[Tehdagah]

The dream of CoD on gamepass is over, sad.

 

[Infinitron]

"Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted"

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Although this ruins the possibility of Bobby Kotick becoming CEO of Microsoft, it does seem that he will remain as CEO of Activision for the forseeable future.

 

[Elttharion]

It would be hilarious if MS had to give up on the acquisition but they were still forced because of their contracts to pay Activision for ports of the Cod games to the NSwitch and the other cloud services.

 

[Morgoth]

UK regulator receives more powers to rein in Big Tech​

By E&T editorial staff

Published Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Google, Apple, Amazon and other tech giants could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover under a new digital consumer bill.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be granted more powers to regulate the “excessive dominance” of large technology platforms and further protect customers, the government has said.

The changes will be made under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill, which will target firms deemed to hold “strategic market status” - defined as those with a global turnover of over £25bn - and work to prevent unfair business practices, including fake online reviews and difficult-to-cancel subscriptions.
Under the draft law, major tech firms will receive strict customer protection rules and could face the threat of multibillion-pound fines should they breach them.

The legislation will aim to strengthen the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), a section of the CMA launched in 2020. The DMU was originally expected to be given powers to devise codes of conduct for tech companies and impose fines of up to 10 per cent of annual turnover. However, it currently has no powers beyond the CMA’s existing capabilities.
The new draft law would bring back the DMU to the forefront of the government’s tech policy and is expected to allow the watchdog to carry out targeted interventions to allow start-ups or smaller firms to compete.

“From abuse of power by tech giants, to fake reviews, scams and rip-offs like being caught in a subscription trap, consumers deserve better,” said Kevin Hollinrake, the business and trade minister. “The new laws we’re delivering will empower the CMA to directly enforce consumer law, strengthen competition in digital markets and ensure that people across the country keep hold of their hard-earned cash.”
The DMCC bill would also ban companies from posting fake reviews without checking that they are genuine, commission someone to write a fake review or offer to submit one.

The draft law will also establish rules to ensure consumers can end subscriptions in a “straightforward, cost-effective and timely way” and require businesses to send a reminder when a free trial or introductory offer is coming to an end.

Moreover, the government said firms could be required to open up their data to rival search engines or increase the transparency of how their app stores and review systems work.
″Digital markets offer huge benefits, but only if competition enables businesses of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to succeed,” said Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA. ”This bill is a legal framework fit for the digital age. It will establish a tailored, evidenced-based and proportionate approach to regulating the largest and most powerful digital firms to ensure effective competition that benefits everyone.”

Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha added: “This bill is a pivotal step to make markets in the UK work better for consumers, businesses and support economic growth. Whether it’s fake reviews by dishonest businesses or people getting trapped in unwanted and costly subscriptions, our consumer protections are overdue an upgrade.”

As part of his Autumn Statement, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the government would present a draft of the Digital Markets Competition & Consumers Bill before May 2023.
In November, the CMA launched a full investigation into Google and Apple’s dominance of mobile web browsers after a consultation found that the two companies exercised “a stranglehold over operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices”.

The DMCC will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday and is expected to become law in 2024.

 

[J1M]

2 months from now: UK regulators state that after realizing that Cloud Gaming is retarded and checking their bank accounts, they have agreed to allow the merger.

 

[kangaxx]

I was surprised about this, but I guess our establishment has to get the odd thing right every now and then.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-...ris-johnson-on-partygate-to-front-cma-appeal/

Activision Blizzard hires barrister who advised Boris Johnson on partygate to front CMA appeal​

Hiring Lord Pannick is a statement of intent.

Activision Blizzard has hired one of the UK's most prominent legal eagles to lead the fight against the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA) recent decision to block the proposed $65 billion deal(opens in new tab) with Microsoft (thanks, Financial Times(opens in new tab)). Lord David Pannick KC of Blackstone Chambers is viewed as one of the great barristers of his time, with former clients including Queen Elizabeth II. Most recently he was in the news for advising the disgraced former Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the partygate scandal (where UK government figures were living it large behind closed doors while imposing lockdown restrictions on the population).

The CMA decided to block the merger two weeks ago, which was met with a furious reaction from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft executives. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick vowed to fight against the decision while Microsoft president Brad Smith was so gobsmacked he called it the company's "darkest day" in the UK(opens in new tab). The real problem is that, regardless of what other regulators say, there's no way Microsoft could close the deal globally and split-off Activision Blizzard UK as a separate entity, so the CMA's decision risks nixing the deal entirely.

Hiring Lord Pannick is, in a UK legal context, the most serious statement of intent it could make. The guy is as high profile and successful as they come. Among many other things, Pannick represented Gina Miller in two Brexit-related victories against the UK government, one of which in 2019 saw the Supreme Court ruling that Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful. He's also represented the likes of F1 tycoon Max Mosley and Princess Diana, as well the likes of the UK government, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and porn distributors Sheptonhurst Ltd.

A man of ranging and varied interests! The Chambers UK legal guide calls him an “outstanding public law silk” ('silk' is UK legal jargon for being one of the King's Counsel, a mark of outstanding ability), who's handled the "most significant high profile human rights cases before domestic, European and international courts" over his time at the bar.

Pannick’s appointment comes after Microsoft hired Daniel Beard KC, another top competition barrister, to lead its legal case. Microsoft and Activision will act independently in their appeals, as the deal rumbles on through regulators in the European Union and the US.

Regardless of how much the companies spend on lawyers, however, they face an uphill battle The appeal will be heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), which will analyse the CMA's decision-making procedures and determine whether these were followed appropriately. Even should the CAT grant the appeal, however, the outcome will be a re-referral to the CMA: So this isn't over by a long shot.

 

[Morgoth]

UK is not happy:

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.eurogamer.net/eu-approves-microsofts-687bn-activision-blizzard-bid

EU approves Microsoft's $68.7bn Activision Blizzard bid​

UK regulator slams decision, says it lets Microsoft rule cloud gaming for next decade.

Microsoft's stalled Activision Blizzard buyout received some positive news today, as the EU offered its approval.

The European Commission had been one of three major regulators standing in the way of the deal, alongside the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) - the latter of which dramatically blocked the deal last month, dealing a sizable blow to it succeeding overall. Microsoft is now set to appeal that decision.

In Brussels, however, it's better news for Microsoft - after a couple of concessions ended up winning over EU regulators.

Cruically, the EU has given the nod to the deal after securing agreements to lessen its potential impact on the emerging cloud gaming market - the main sticking point with the UK's regulator.

This includes a free license for European gamers to stream any Activision Blizzard game they own via any cloud gaming service of their choice, and a free license for cloud gaming services in the region to host said games on their platform.

In a statement on the decision, Microsoft said this commitment would "apply globally". Company president Brad Smith claimed it would "empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose".

The EU ultimately dismissed its earlier concerns around the deal's potential to harm rival console makers (ie. Sony, Nintendo) and game subscription services (such as PlayStation Plus). Ultimately, the EU decided Microsoft was unlikely to pull Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty from rival consoles as it would see its profits suffer as a result (an argument Microsoft itself repeatedly put forward).

Indeed, the EU said that even if Microsoft did pull Call of Duty from PlayStation, Sony would still be able to remain competitive. PlayStation would simply "leverage its size, extensive games catalogue and market position to fend off any attempt to weaken its competitive position", the European Commission decided.


The European Commission's handy graphic explaining its decision to allow Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover bid to continue.

On cloud streaming, the EU found the deal was unlikely to change much as the market is still "very limited today". Indeed, the EU said it believes the deal could actually "promote its growth".

"These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud game streaming compared to the current situation," the European Commission continued. "They will empower millions of EEA consumers to stream Activision's games using any cloud gaming services operating in the EEA, provided they are purchased in an online store or included in an active multi-game subscription in the EEA.

"In addition, the availability of Activision's popular games for streaming via all cloud game streaming services will boost the development of this dynamic technology in the EEA. Ultimately, the commitments will unlock significant benefits for competition and consumers, by bringing Activision's games to new platforms, including smaller EU players, and to more devices than before."

The UK's CMA has disagreed with the EU's decision, and in a rebuttal to the news said it risked letting Microsoft rule the cloud gaming market for the next decade.

"Microsoft's proposals, accepted by the European Commission today, would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years," the CMA said. "They would replace a free, open and competitive market with one subject to ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms to which it sells them, and the conditions of sale.

"This is one of the reasons the CMA's independent panel group rejected Microsoft's proposals and prevented this deal. While we recognise and respect that the European Commission is entitled to take a different view, the CMA stands by its decision."

As you'd expect, Activision today offered a positive spin on the news.

"The EC conducted an extremely thorough, deliberate process to gain a comprehensive understanding of gaming," the company's controversial boss Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "As a result, they approved our merger with Microsoft, although they required stringent remedies to ensure robust competition in our rapidly growing industry.

"We intend to meaningfully expand our investment and workforce throughout the EU, and we’re excited for the benefits our transaction brings to players in Europe and around the world... Our talented teams in Sweden, Spain, Germany, Romania, Poland and many other European countries have the skills, ambition, and government support needed to compete effectively on a global scale. We expect these teams to grow and prosper given their governments' firm but pragmatic approach to gaming."

Despite its success in Europe, Microsoft now finds itself facing a tough challenge to get its deal approved in the UK, following the CMA's block.

Straightforward appeal cases typically take up to nine months to complete - and then are simply passed back to the UK's regulator to decide upon once more. Microsoft will need argue it was treated unfairly or that the CMA's process was flawed in order to succeed.

Failure in Europe would have dealt a successive heavy blow to Microsoft's hopes of owning Activision Blizzard. Next up, seeing off the FTC's legal action this summer.