The US Federal Trade Commission has dropped its legal challenge against Microsoft Corp's (NASDAQ:MSFT) $69 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, acknowledging that continuing to pursue the now-completed deal was no longer in the public interest.
The decision follows a failed appeal earlier this month to block the merger, which closed in 2023 and remains the largest transaction in the gaming industry to date.
The FTC had argued that the acquisition would give Microsoft unfair control over the gaming market, particularly affecting rivals to its Xbox console and cloud-based services.
Microsoft welcomed the move, with President Brad Smith calling it “a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington DC.”
The case was among several initiated under former FTC chair Lina Khan that are now being wound down under new leadership.
Also dropped was a separate complaint accusing PepsiCo of discriminatory pricing practices in favour of Walmart.