Microsoft wraps up a 2020 lawsuit with handful of gamers who opposed the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard under the trust that the deal would ultimately harm the gaming industry.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the December 2020 lawsuit has come to an end with both Microsoft and the handful of gamers from across the US agreeing to “bear their own costs and fees” as the case is dismissed ‘with prejudice’.
Interestingly enough, the gamer group that brought the suit to life in the California federal court, did so just two weeks after the US Federal Trade Commission attempted to get a preliminary injunction on the Microsoft and Activision deal, but only the small group of gamers have come out on top to date.
The FTC’s request for an injunction failed, but the general suit to oppose the deal remains an open case while an appeal works its way through the system. Microsoft concluded its purchase of Activision Blizzard last October after gaining conditional approval from most other governmental regulatory bodies.
As for the 10 gamers who closed a deal with Microsoft, their payout has not been disclosed, and neither have the amounts the new owners of Activision Blizzard will have to shell out to cover this case.
Presumably, the cost to quietly silence these 10 critics is less than the total $68B tab Microsoft racked up going after the largest publishing firm in the gaming industry. Microsoft also had to take in consideration that during discovery for the case, revealed information could have been devastating, costly, or simply bad PR during a rough period for the Xbox team.
As it stands now, the Xbox team is unfortunately starting to do some of the things the group argued Microsoft would do after acquiring Activision like firing employees in mass, raising the price of Game Pass, and talking exclusivity when it comes to specific game titles.
