Supreme Court won’t block Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger 

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined an attempt to halt Microsoft’s purchase of video game giant Activision Blizzard. 

Justice Elena Kagan declined to put a temporary injunction on the merger at the behest of gamers who oppose the deal. Kagan — who reviews emergency applications from the Ninth Circuit — did not refer the request to the full court or provide an explanation for her decision. 

On Monday, a group of video game players asked the high court to stop the deal from moving forward while their legal fight proceeded, claiming Microsoft’s resulting power over the video game industry would harm consumers. 

“The merger between Microsoft and Activision would be one of, if not the largest technology mergers in history, at a time when concentration among technology companies is already threatening the competitive balance of our economy and even our political systems,” Joseph Alioto Sr., an attorney with Alioto Law Firm representing the group, wrote in their application. 

The deal is set to go into effect by midnight Tuesday. 

Activision Blizzard owns franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. Putting the popular games under Microsoft ownership has some in the industry worried about driving out competition from Nintendo and Sony. 

The gamers filed their antitrust suit in December but the presiding judge did not hear arguments on the merits of their claims before shutting them down. The court instead found Microsoft’s purchase did not threaten irreparable harm to consumers. 

“For from any minute accretion of power, this merger is enormous and will substantially lessen competition,” the gamers said in their petition to the high court. “Yet the district court has accepted Microsoft’s erroneous position that they can merge without even allowing Plaintiffs to be heard on the merits.” 

Gamers are not the only ones concerned over Microsoft’s purchase. The Federal Trade Commission also filed an antitrust suit to block the deal. Last week, Biden appointee U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley refused to issue a preliminary injunction on the merger. 

After a failed attempt to join the FTC’s suit, the gamers appealed to the Ninth Circuit. The appeals court also refused to offer relief, forcing them to turn to the justices. 

“The public interest has a strong interest in preserving competition in the marketplace, particularly in the case of a multibillion industry effecting dozens of businesses and millions of consumers,” the gamers said in their petition.

Alioto did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling. 

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