VOA科学技术2023--US Judge Temporarily Blocks Microsoft’s Purchase of Activision

US Judge Temporarily Blocks Microsoft’s Purchase of Activision

An American judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft's planned purchase of video gaming company Activision Blizzard¹.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley made the ruling Tuesday in San Francisco. Her decision came after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested federal court action to block Microsoft's $69 billion deal.

FTC officials have expressed concern that the purchase, also called an acquisition, would hurt competition in the video gaming market. Both Microsoft and Activision had signaled the deal could be completed as soon as June 16.

Corley said her ruling to temporarily halt the deal was "necessary to maintain the status quo" while the FTC's legal cases are still active. An earlier request by the FTC to block the acquisition will also be considered at a hearing set for June 20.

The FTC wants the deal to be blocked until the U.S. government has a chance to have its concerns about competition officially heard.

Microsoft announced the proposed deal in January 2022. If approved, it would become one of the biggest technology deals in history. The deal is expected to improve Microsoft's position in competing with other major video game makers² like China's Tencent and Japan's Sony.

Activision Blizzard produces a series of popular and profitable video games. Among them are Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. Microsoft is expected to make those games and others available to subscription³ users of its Xbox gaming system.

This has raised questions about whether Microsoft might restrict Activision games to its own Xbox system and Windows-powered computers. Some critics have also expressed concern that the deal could give Microsoft a favored position in the growing international cloud-based gaming market.

The deal has faced intense opposition⁴ from competitors such as Japan's Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft sought to answer such criticism by signing a deal with Nintendo to license⁵ Activision games like the hugely popular Call of Duty for 10 years. Microsoft offered the same deal to Sony if the deal goes through.

Last month, the European Union gave final approval to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition. The approval came after Microsoft made promises to support efforts to expand competition in the cloud-based gaming market. A number of other countries have also approved the deal. These include China, Japan, Brazil and South Korea.

But the acquisition still faces legal difficulties in Britain and the United States.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has rejected the deal on grounds that it could harm competition. Microsoft filed an appeal of Britain's decision in late May and protested the rejection⁶ to top government officials.

If Microsoft were to close the deal without Britain's approval, it could face new legal difficulties there or possibly decide to suspend its wider game business in the country.

U.S.-based consumer group Public Citizen, an opponent of the deal, has welcomed the FTC's move. "Microsoft is pushing to culminate⁷ the purchase of Activision before the agency can finish its process," said Public Citizen official Matt Kent.

In the United States, the FTC already took Microsoft to court last year to block the acquisition.

That case is set to go to trial on August 2 at the FTC's in-house administrative⁸ court. The FTC has argued the deal would give Microsoft's Xbox system exclusive rights to Activision games.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a statement the company welcomes the chance to present Microsoft's case in federal court. Activision did not comment on the FTC's latest request.

Microsoft officials have said the deal would benefit both gamers and gaming companies. When announcing the deal, Microsoft said it expected the acquisition would close in their 2023 fiscal⁹ year, which ends in June.

Words in This Story

maintain – v. to make something continue

status quo – n. the situation as it exists now, without any changes

subscription – n. an agreement you make with a company to get a publication or service regularly and that you usually pay for in advance

license – v. give someone official permission to do or have something

consumer – n. someone who buys or uses goods or services

culminate – v. to be the final thing in a series of events

exclusive – adj. not shared with another person, organization, etc.

benefit – v. to be helped by something

1 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

7 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。