Almost two years after it was originally filed, an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft filed by a group of gamers has reportedly been dismissed for good.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision faced a lot of pushback from the likes of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when its plans were announced, but one group that didn’t give up even after the buyout went through was the team behind the so-called ‘gamers’ lawsuit,’ known officially as Dante DeMartini et al v. Microsoft Corporation. As its unofficial name suggests, this antitrust lawsuit was filed by a group of regular ol’ gamers, who sought to block the acquisition on the grounds that the merger could harm competition in the games industry – the same sort of concerns echoed by the FTC.
Now though, The Hollywood Reporter reports that as of yesterday, the case has been settled, and reportedly dismissed permanently, so it can’t be filed again later down the line. It’s not been revealed what the terms of the agreement were, but both sides will be paying their own legal fees. So, that’s it.
It’s, frankly, not very surprising to see the case end up like this. After all, the FTC’s own efforts to stop the merger were denied, although it more recently submitted a new filing calling the new Xbox Game Pass Standard subscription tier an example of “product degradation,” which is “exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.” A response from Microsoft alleged this letter from the FTC “presents a misleading, extra-record account of the facts,” however.
October 13 marked a full year since the Microsoft and Activision merger was closed. Since then, it’s been an undeniably tough year for Microsoft’s gaming staff, with a huge wave of around 1,900 layoffs in January followed by reports of a further 650 job cuts in September.
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