Microsoft admits accusing FTC of violating constitution was wrong

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Microsoft has updated their statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) case preventing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The firm has withdrawn its incendiary assertions and is no longer asserting that the FTC is fundamentally unconstitutional.

In a revised and less inflammatory response to the FTC’s lawsuit seeking to halt the computer giant’s $69 billion gaming acquisition, Microsoft eliminated that claim on Thursday.

“The FTC has an important mission to protect competition and consumers, and we quickly updated our response to omit language suggesting otherwise based on the constitution,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an official statement to Axios.

In a response to the FTC’s lawsuit, which halted Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, last month, Microsoft responded with a 37-page document listing how the deal will not affect the market but will further improve accessibility to games.

In addition, Microsoft argued that the FTC’s practices, the nature of its administrative proceedings, and the commission’s alleged “prejudgment of the merits” of its case violated the company’s rights to due process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.

Microsoft removed the constitutional points from its updated statement but kept most of its other arguments against the Activision Blizzard merger intact. Microsoft’s public relations spokesman also acknowledged the situation, saying, “we should have dropped these defenses before we filed.”

With a merger, this big part of the gaming industry and the FTC are worried that the acquisition might stifle by limiting the Activision Blizzard games to their platforms only.

Microsoft has tried to address the concerns from time to time that the games will not be exclusive to one platform as the company will only lose a significant amount of player base and profits. The company has even provided a 10-year commitment to other platforms.

While Nintendo accepted the offer, X-Box’s competitor PlayStation refused the deal and is strictly against the deal. With so many roadblocks, the case can take a while to settle fully.

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