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Microsoft settles Activision Blizzard gamer antitrust suit

Microsoft settles Activision Blizzard gamer antitrust suit

Tech giant Microsoft has settled an antitrust case that was brought against it by gamers concerned with the company's purchase of Activision Blizzard. 

That's according to The Hollywood Reporter, which says that the two sides of the lawsuit have both filed to have it dismissed with prejudice. In English, that means that neither side can refile the case now. Previously, the case was brought in 2022 but was dismissed without prejudice in March of the following year. It was refiled in April 2023. 

The terms of the settlement haven't been disclosed. Each party will be paying for their legal fees. 

The lawsuit was filed in California and expressed concerns about the impact that Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard would have on the games industry. Namely, consumer choice would be reduced due to the sheer size of the new entity the deal would create. 

It was filed around the same time that the US Federal Trade Commission – ultimately, unsuccessfully – sued to half the deal in its tracks. 


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.