The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has moved to artifact Microsoft’s takeover of video crippled institution Activision Blizzard, citing concerns that the woody would thwart contention by denying rivals entree to fashionable gaming content.

Microsoft, which owns the Xbox video crippled console system, said successful January 2022 that it would bargain Activision for $68.7bn, which would marque it the biggest gaming manufacture woody successful history. Activision is the shaper of fashionable games including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

The FTC voted 3-1 connected Thursday to contented its ailment aft a closed-door meeting, with the 3 Democratic commissioners voting successful favour and the sole Republican voting against.

The US agency, which enforces user extortion and antitrust laws, said the merger could suppress competitors to its Xbox crippled consoles and its increasing games subscription business.

The bureau said that Microsoft had a grounds of buying invaluable gaming contented and utilizing it to stifle threats from rival consoles. The woody had besides raised concerns with the UK’s contention regulator, which said it “could substantially lessen contention successful gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and unreality gaming services”.

“Microsoft has already shown that it tin and volition withhold contented from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, manager of the FTC’s bureau of competition. “Today we question to halt Microsoft from gaining power implicit a starring autarkic crippled workplace and utilizing it to harm contention successful aggregate dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”

Microsoft president Brad Smith said the institution would combat the FTC. “While we believed successful giving bid a chance, we person implicit assurance successful our lawsuit and invited the accidental to contiguous our lawsuit successful court,” helium said.