The Federal Trade Commission ended its remaining administrative challenge to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard on May 22, 2025. The deal had already closed on October 13, 2023, and the Ninth Circuit had affirmed the denial of the FTC’s request to block closing on May 7, 2025. Those were separate procedural events: the appellate ruling upheld the denial of preliminary relief, while the FTC’s later filing dismissed the administrative complaint.
What happened
The FTC filed an order dismissing its administrative complaint on May 22, 2025, ending the agency’s continuing challenge to the acquisition. The transaction was already complete: Microsoft closed the deal on October 13, 2023.
The FTC’s case had two connected tracks. The agency brought a federal action seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the deal from closing while its administrative case proceeded. The district court denied that request in July 2023, and the FTC appealed. On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial. The FTC then dismissed its separate administrative complaint later that month.
The FTC timeline records the May 22 dismissal; its June 2025 litigation report sets out the procedural chronology. The Ninth Circuit opinion addresses the May 7 appellate ruling.
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What the FTC alleged
The FTC alleged that the acquisition could let Microsoft suppress competitors to Xbox consoles and to its subscription and cloud-gaming businesses. That was the agency’s theory of potential competitive harm, not a factual finding that Microsoft had suppressed rivals. The FTC’s case record describes the allegations and the agency’s challenge.
How the deal closed before the FTC challenge ended
Microsoft completed the acquisition after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority approved a restructured transaction. The Ninth Circuit opinion says the transaction closed on October 13, 2023, the same day as that approval.
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As part of the restructuring, Activision Blizzard transferred to Ubisoft specified cloud-streaming rights outside the European Economic Area: rights for current games and for future games released during the following 15 years. The arrangement also limited exclusive or preferential licensing to Microsoft. This was a transfer of defined streaming rights, not ownership of Activision Blizzard or the games themselves.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the dismissal does—and does not—establish
The May 22 filing ended this FTC administrative challenge. It was not a judicial ruling on the administrative complaint’s merits. Nor does the Ninth Circuit’s affirmance of the denial of a preliminary injunction amount to a broad finding about every possible competitive effect of the acquisition. The ruling concerned whether the FTC had met the standard for the preliminary relief it sought to stop closing.
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