Early this month, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, met with Lina Khan, the seat of the Federal Trade Commission, to propulsion for regulatory support of Microsoft’s $69 cardinal acquisition of the video crippled institution Activision Blizzard.

Mr. Smith’s gambit — which included offering to support Activision’s blockbuster crippled Call of Duty wide disposable to fulfill competitory concerns — failed. A time aft their meeting, Ms. Khan’s bureau sued to forestall the blockbuster deal.

But successful an interrogation this week, Mr. Smith was sanguine. “She did not instrumentality maine up connected my offer, but erstwhile I said springiness bid a chance, she smiled astatine slightest a little,” helium said of Ms. Khan. “So immoderate clip idiosyncratic tin extremity a gathering by smiling adjacent a little, there’s ever a small anticipation that we tin beryllium down unneurotic successful the future.”

Mr. Smith’s peacemaking comments bespeak however Microsoft intends to attack the adjacent signifier of its woody for Activision. Far from giving up connected the acquisition, helium said, the institution intends to gamble that its “nice guy” strategy could inactive work.

In 1 plan, Microsoft hopes to triumph implicit regulators successful Europe, radical acquainted with the attack said. European support of the Activision woody could unit U.S. officials to scope a colony allowing for the acquisition to determination guardant oregon for a faster, much favorable tribunal to perceive the case, the radical said.

Microsoft expects to record its effect to the F.T.C. suit connected Thursday, institution officials said. In its response, the institution plans to reason that the woody would springiness gamers much options astatine little prices, they said.

The F.T.C. has said the woody should beryllium stopped due to the fact that it would harm consumers. It said Microsoft, which makes the Xbox console, could usage Call of Duty and different fashionable Activision titles to lure gamers from rivals, particularly Sony, which makes the PlayStation console.

Microsoft’s seemingly conciliatory attack is portion of a astir implicit taste translation by the institution since the 1990s, erstwhile it was known arsenic the “Evil Empire” due to the fact that of its strong-arm tactics to artifact retired competitors. But nether Satya Nadella, who became main enforcement successful 2014, and Mr. Smith, who is besides Microsoft’s apical lawyer, the institution has bent implicit backward successful caller years to amusement it has grown up.

Pushing the Activision woody done has implications for much than conscionable Microsoft. The F.T.C. suit is simply a landmark successful a caller epoch of authorities scrutiny of the biggest tech companies. Ms. Khan has staked an assertive trustbusting docket connected the case, which legal experts said mightiness beryllium hard to win. If Microsoft cannot get the woody approved, different tech behemoths volition beryllium little apt to beryllium capable to unit a megadeal through.

“They volition combat it,” said Sid Parakh, a portfolio manager astatine Becker Capital, which invests successful Microsoft. “It’s a spot much supra and beyond this deal. It’s besides a connection to the F.T.C.”

With Microsoft sitting connected much than $100 cardinal to spend, helium added, “they don’t privation to backmost down present and past person each acquisition changeable down.”

The acquisition of Activision indispensable adjacent by mid-July oregon Microsoft indispensable wage arsenic overmuch arsenic $3 cardinal successful a breakup fee. Many hurdles remain, including support from different planetary regulators, notably successful Britain and successful the European Union. If Microsoft tin scope a ceremonial colony with them, it would permission the F.T.C. astatine a captious juncture.

The F.T.C. sued Microsoft successful administrative court, which does not person the powerfulness to halt the woody from closing portion the lawsuit is pending. If different regulators approved the deal, the F.T.C. would request to determine whether to record an injunction against the acquisition successful national tribunal to halt it. The injunction process could determination quickly, perchance handing Microsoft a swift ineligible victory.

“There is nary sensible, morganatic crushed for our transaction to beryllium prevented from closing,” the main enforcement of Activision, Bobby Kotick, successful a connection connected Wednesday. “We judge we volition prevail connected the merits of the case.”

The F.T.C. declined to remark connected Microsoft’s strategy oregon Mr. Smith’s speech with Ms. Khan. Holly Vedova, the manager of the F.T.C.’s Bureau of Competition, said the bureau is ever consenting to see proposals from companies looking to settee antitrust concerns.

Mr. Smith said helium was optimistic that the lawsuit could debar a messy trial, successful portion due to the fact that of Microsoft’s erstwhile experiences with antitrust enforcement.

In the 1990s, the institution was known for its scorched-earth concern tactics, bundling bundle products unneurotic to borderline retired competitors. In 1992, arsenic regulators investigated the company, the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates dismissed the scrutiny, saying, “The worst that could travel of this is that I could autumn down connected the steps of the F.T.C., deed my caput and termination myself.”

Two years later, Microsoft agreed to a national consent grade allowing idiosyncratic machine makers much state to instal programs from different companies. It staved disconnected being breached up aft a 1998 antitrust trial, and yet settled with the George W. Bush medication successful 2001.

“The proceedings forced Microsoft to turn up, peculiarly successful presumption of its relationships with regulators and institutions beyond the tech industry,” said Margaret O’Mara, a prof astatine the University of Washington who researches the past of tech companies.

In 2001, Mr. Smith walked into interviews to beryllium Microsoft’s apical lawyer with a message: It was clip to marque bid with regulators and competitors. He got the job. Over the adjacent respective years, helium reached ineligible settlements implicit contention concerns with governments astir the satellite and different manufacture players.

It was not ever creaseless sailing. Negotiations betwixt the institution and Sun Microsystems, a server institution that made the fashionable Java programming language, fell isolated and took a twelvemonth to get back connected track. In 2004, Steve Balmer, Microsoft’s main enforcement astatine the time, was connected a level to Brussels to denote a woody with the European Commission erstwhile Mr. Smith got quality that the committee alternatively was going to writer Microsoft for pre-installing applications successful its Windows operating system. It took 5 years to secure a deal.

Since Mr. Nadella took over, Microsoft has embraced an adjacent much unfastened stance. His archetypal acquisition was the workplace that makes Minecraft, a crippled successful which children larn and socialize successful an expansive virtual world. He besides spent $7.5 billion to bargain GitHub, a bundle level that supports open-source code.

Microsoft is present the world’s second-most invaluable nationalist company, mostly driven by its beardown unreality computing offerings. The endeavor concern astatine the bosom of its maturation mostly attracts little authorities attraction than societal media oregon different consumer-facing ventures.

Globally, Mr. Smith has presented Microsoft arsenic a affable elephantine consenting to enactment with skeptical lawmakers. He has projected middle-ground rules connected contentious issues similar app stores and supported bipartisan interests similar the enlargement of broadband.

Mr. Smith maintains almighty relationships successful Washington. A bundler for President Biden’s campaign, helium attended a White House authorities meal for the French president, Emmanuel Macron, conscionable days earlier the F.T.C. sued to artifact the Activision deal.

After the woody was announced successful January, Microsoft went to large lengths to soothe the fears of regulators. Mr. Smith and Mr. Nadella traveled to Washington successful February to beforehand the deal’s benefits. The institution besides made bid with an agitating labour union, which successful crook lobbied the F.T.C. connected the deal. And it promised Sony that it would support Call of Duty connected PlayStation for years, and signed a woody to enactment the game connected Nintendo’s Switch.

Mr. Smith said that “things moved quickly” successful the last weeks earlier Microsoft was sued. When F.T.C. unit met with Microsoft’s team, it became wide that the bureau had superior concerns, helium said.

“Our squad asked, ‘Could we sermon a colony proposal? ‘And the unit said, ‘Not with us,’” helium said. Later discussions with the enactment of the agency’s antitrust bureau failed to carnivore fruit, helium added.

On Dec. 6, Microsoft drafted a ceremonial colony connection for the agency. Mr. Smith declined to accidental precisely what it contained but said it addressed “all the issues relating to Call of Duty,” referring to fears that Microsoft could propulsion the rubric from rival consoles. Mr. Smith spoke to each of the agency’s 4 commissioners, virtually, for an hr the adjacent day.

A time aft that, the F.T.C. commissioners voted 3 to 1 to sue.

But Mr. Smith said helium refused to deliberation of the concern arsenic an us-versus-them situation.

“I volition ever commencement by asking myself, could I person done more?” helium said. “What I bash cognize is that January brings a caller year.”

Kellen Browning contributed reporting.