Microsoft runs pro-union ad in push to acquire Activision Blizzard

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Microsoft has placed a large advertisement in The Washington Post supporting its purchase of Activision Blizzard. This is one of the few major steps the company has taken for its Activision Blizzard acquisition.

Microsoft and the sizable Communications Workers of America union (CWA) have both backed the advertisement, highlighting Microsoft’s recent public actions in support of labor rights and employees’ rights to organize unions.

The ad “A New Year Opens New Doors” says, “As we enter a new year, we remain committed to creating the best workplaces we can for people who make a living in the tech sector.”

“This is keeping with new, groundbreaking labor neutrality principles that the Communications Workers of America and Microsoft established last year. During 2023, we hope to bring the same agreement and principles to Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft has proposed to acquire.”

While explaining the deal’s benefits, the company also says that they do not want the FTC to oversee any competition concern but rather work together to solve them as the company has no intentions to eliminate competition.

FTC previously filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that the company might withhold Activision Blizzard games like the upcoming Bethesda game “Starfield” from competitors like Sony to get a business advantage.

In response to the FTC lawsuit, Microsoft submitted a 37-page response where the company also mentioned FTC as unconstitutional, which they later apologized for and was swiftly removed from the response.

Microsoft has been claiming that they do not plan to make Activision Blizzard games exclusive but rather make the game accessible to players worldwide. The company offered 10-year deals to Sony and Nintendo for the Call of Duty franchise.

While Nintendo accepted the offer, Sony declined and was strictly against the acquisition. With all these challenges, Microsoft finally decided to put forward the ad to get more support in completing the acquisition. If the deal is allowed, it will be the biggest acquisition in the gaming industry.

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