LogInAn FTC attorney claims that the two sides hadn't yet engaged in significant discussions over a possible settlement that would negate the need for a trial.
The Federal Trade Commission says there have not yet been "substantive" settlement discussions with Microsoft over the tech giant's proposed $68.7 billion deal to purchase Activision Blizzard.
That's according to Reuters that which cited the FTC attorney James Weingarten who reportedly said during a pre-trial hearing on January 3 that the two sides hadn't yet engaged in significant discussions over a possible settlement that would negate the need for a trial.
The trial is set to take place in August 2023, however, there is a possibility that Microsoft and the FTC could yet agree to concessions before the trial.
Tuesday's pre-trial hearing followed the FTC's filing of a lawsuit last month. The regulator claimed that the deal would "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business."
Following this, Microsoft filed its response to U.S. regulators’ antitrust case where it downplayed its own place in the console world saying that "the acquisition of a single game by the third-place console manufacturer cannot upend a highly competitive industry."
In its complaint, the FTC also pointed out that Microsoft might make Activision games Xbox and PC exclusives which, according to the regulator, might hurt the competition in the market.
As a prove, it drew attention to the fact that the tech giant has a record of "acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition" from other console makers, noting that the upcoming Bethesda titles Starfield and Redfall will both be Xbox exclusives "despite assurances [Microsoft] had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles."
Microsoft, however, rejected this claim stating that the deal will only "benefit consumers" and saying that the reference to Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax "has no relevance to the current transaction." Nevertheless, it admitted that it "anticipates that three future [Bethesda] titles [...] will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs."
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