Tag: Games Software

Activision Blizzard to pay $55 million to settle California civil-rights lawsuit

Videogame maker Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay nearly $55 million to settle a California civil-rights lawsuit brought over complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and pay disparities by women employees that helped trigger the company’s acquisition by Microsoft.

The settlement, announced by the California Civil Rights Department on Friday evening, resolves the lawsuit filed against the “Call of Duty” videogame studio by the agency in 2021 over claims that it “discriminated against women at the company, including by denying promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for doing substantially similar work,” CRD said.

The agreement, subject to court approval, will see Activision pay nearly $46 million into a settlement fund dedicated to compensating women employees and contract workers at the company, plus more than $9 million in attorneys’ fees and costs. Additionally, Activision will take steps “to help ensure fair pay and promotion practices at the company,” including retaining an independent consultant to evaluate its compensation and promotion policies.

Yet the settlement also sees CRD withdraw its initial claims alleging a culture of widespread, systemic workplace sexual harassment at Activision, according to a copy of the agreement provided to MarketWatch. The document notes that the department is filing an amended complaint that removes the sexual-harassment allegations against the company and focuses on the gender-based pay and promotion claims.

CRD made no note of its prior sexual-harassment claims against Activision in its announcement Friday. A spokesperson for the department said the statement “largely speaks for itself with respect to the historic nature of this more than $50 million settlement agreement, which will bring direct relief and compensation to women who were harmed by the company’s discriminatory practices.

Representatives for Activision declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the settlement Friday.

The California agency’s complaint was one of several high-profile investigations by both state and federal regulators in recent years into alleged workplace misconduct at Activision and failures by its leadership to respond appropriately.

While Activision repeatedly denied the allegations, they ramped up pressure on the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company and its CEO, Bobby Kotick, and eventually led to a $68.7 billion takeover bid by Microsoft
MSFT,
+1.31%
in January 2022. The acquisition closed this October after receiving approval by U.K. and E.U. antitrust regulators, though the U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to challenge the deal in court. Kotick is expected to leave the company, which he led for more than three decades, at the end of this year.

The settlement would be the second-largest ever for the California Civil Rights Department, according to the Journal, after its $100 million agreement with another Los Angeles-area videogame developer, Riot Games, to resolve gender-discrimination allegations in 2021. The agency had initially sought a much-larger settlement with Activision, the publication reported, citing how the state had estimated the company’s liability at nearly $1 billion to some 2,500 employees with potential claims.

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December 15, 2023
Plug Power, Trade Desk, Doximity, Unity Software, Illumina, Wynn, and More Stock Market Movers

These Stocks Are Moving the Most Today: Plug Power, Trade Desk, Doximity, Unity Software, Illumina, Wynn, and More

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November 10, 2023
Unity Software’s stock skids 12% on revenue miss, uncertain outlook

Unity Software Inc.’s stock fell about 12% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported a revenue miss and withheld from offering guidance.

“Our results in the third quarter were mixed,” Unity
U,
-3.15%
said in a letter to shareholders. “While revenue came in within guidance, we believe we can do better.”

The beleaguered game-engine software company has been whipsawed by a series of missteps and departures. In September, it announced new fees based on the number of people who install games built with Unity’s editor software — only to backtrack and revamp its plan following a chorus of complaints that dented the stock. Last month, John Riccitiello announced he was retiring as chief executive, effective immediately.

Also read: Opinion: Unity Software has a fleeting moment to win back developers — and investors

“While we did not expect the introduction of the fees to be easy, the execution created friction with our customers and near-term headwinds,” Unity said in the letter. “We expect the impact of this business-model change to have minimal benefit in 2024 and ramp from there as customers adopt our new releases.”

Unity executives are mulling several new strategies that include layoffs, a reduction in office space and product discontinuations, but it did not offer timing or guidance, according to the shareholder letter.

Unity reported a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $125.3 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $250 million, or 84 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue was $544.2 million, up from $322.9 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected revenue of $554 million.

Shares of Unity have dipped 12% this year. The broader S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.81%
is up 13% in 2023.

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November 9, 2023

Microsoft’s Activision Deal Gets Green Light From UK Regulator

By Kim Mackrael

Microsoft’s acquisition of videogame company Activision Blizzard won approval from U.K. competition authorities, clearing a path for the companies to close the $75 billion deal after a lengthy struggle with regulators.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that the proposed deal no longer poses a major threat to competition in cloud gaming. The shift comes after Microsoft offered to restructure the deal by forfeiting cloud-streaming rights for “Call of Duty” and other popular Activision franchises in much of the world.

-Sarah E. Needleman contributed to this article

Write to Kim Mackrael at Kim.mackrael@wsj.com

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October 12, 2023

Microsoft’s Revised Activision Deal Addresses Competition Concerns, Says UK Regulator

By Elena Vardon

Microsoft’s proposals to modify its $75 billion Activision acquisition address the concerns with the U.K. antitrust authority, the regulator said in a provisional decision Friday.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said that the new deal submitted by Microsoft should lessen any harm to competition in cloud gaming.

The CMA said that the restructured transaction–through which Activision would sell its cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft–opens the door to the deal being cleared.

The regulator is consulting on remedies put forward by Microsoft to address residual concerns it has before making a final decision, it said.

The CMA opened a consultation on these remedies which will last until Oct. 6, it added.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

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September 22, 2023

Microsoft proposes Ubisoft license to win U.K. approval for Activision Blizzard buyout

Microsoft will change the terms of its Activision Blizzard buyout offer in a new effort to win approval from the U.K. competition regulator.

The regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, said Microsoft
MSFT,
+1.71%
will now license Activision’s global cloud streaming to Ubisoft Entertainment, for any game available now or in the next 15 years. Ubisoft, in its own release, highlighted the ability to stream the popular Call of Duty franchise.

Financial terms were not released, but the regulator said Ubisoft will make a one-off payment and also agree a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism.

The license will be exclusive except in the European economic area. Ubisoft would have the ability to require Microsoft to provide versions of games on operating systems other than Windows, such as Linux.

Ubisoft shares
UBI,
+5.80%
jumped nearly 5% in opening Paris trade.

The regulator now says it’s inviting comments on the structure of the new offer. “This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments,” said the regulator’s CEO, Sarah Cardell.

Microsoft last year agreed to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, or $95 per share. Activision stock
ATVI,
+0.28%
closed Monday at $90.72.

In a blog post, Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith said it anticipates the CMA review processes can be completed before the 90-day extension in its acquisition agreement with Activision Blizzard expires on Oct.18. He also said the deal with Ubisoft was carefully structured not to interfere with an existing deal struck with European regulators.

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August 21, 2023
Roblox Misses on Earnings. The Videogame Stock Sinks.

Roblox Stock Falls Sharply. Blame the Wider Loss.

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August 9, 2023
FTC files appeal, again seeks to block Microsoft-Activision deal

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday asked an appeals court to temporarily block Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. while it challenges a ruling earlier this week green-lighting the deal.

The FTC on Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to postpone her ruling — which she promptly denied — and also appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to pause the acquisition “to preserve the status quo” while the case is reviewed, claiming it is likely to succeed in its appeal.

According to the filing, the FTC claims the judge applied the wrong legal standard to its request for a preliminary injunction, and erred in a number of other matters.

The deal is set to close in the coming days, and letting it happen will “irreparably harm the public interest and the FTC,” regulators said.

Also see: GOP blasts FTC Chair Khan as a ‘bully’ after agency’s loss in Microsoft case

In a response filed with the court, Microsoft said the FTC “failed to carry its burden on independent, fact-based grounds” and “dragged its heels” before appealing.

“The court has already found that it would be inequitable” to order an injunction that could lead to “the potential scuttling of the merger,” Microsoft said, in asking for the FTC’s request to be denied.

The FTC has claimed the tie-up of a major videogame platform — Microsoft’s
MSFT,
+1.62%
Xbox — with a major videogame publisher — Activision
ATVI,
-0.51%
makes the wildly popular “Call of Duty,” among other titles — would be harmful to the videogame industry and consumers.

Microsoft has pledged to keep “Call of Duty” available to Sony’s
SONY,
+2.82%
PlayStation console for 10 years, and will make it available for Nintendo’s
7974,
-0.36%
Switch and some cloud-gaming platforms.

In her ruling clearing the deal Tuesday, Corley said the FTC did not show “this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition.”

Bloomberg News reported late Thursday that Microsoft and Activision are considering giving up some control of their cloud-gaming business in the U.K. to win approval of British regulators, who — if the U.S. appeals court does not act — are the final hurdle to the deal closing on time.

FTC Chair Lina Khan testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where Republican lawmakers assailed her actions and sharply criticized her agency’s court losses in trying to block the Microsoft-Activision deal and Meta’s
META,
+1.32%
acquisition of a virtual-reality gaming company earlier this year.

Read more: After Microsoft defeat, ‘toothless’ FTC needs to pick better battles if it wants to rein in Big Tech

Also: FTC’s probe of OpenAI marks key moment in Khan’s push to rein in Big Tech

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July 13, 2023
FTC will appeal judge’s ruling clearing Microsoft-Activision deal

The Federal Trade Commission late Wednesday filed notice that it will appeal a judge’s ruling this week that gave Microsoft Corp. the green light to proceed with its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc.

In a filing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the FTC is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s ruling Tuesday, which said the deal would not hurt competition.

“The District Court’s ruling makes crystal clear that this acquisition is good for both competition and consumers,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, said in a statement.” We’re disappointed that the FTC is continuing to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case, and we will oppose further efforts to delay the ability to move forward.”

The FTC has claimed the tie-up of a major videogame platform — Microsoft’s
MSFT,
+1.42%
Xbox — with a major videogame publisher — Activision
ATVI,
-1.09%
makes the wildly popular “Call of Duty,” among other titles — would be harmful to the videogame industry and consumers.

“The facts haven’t changed,” an Activision spokesperson said Wednesday. “We’re confident the U.S. will remain among the 39 countries where the merger can close. We look forward to reinforcing the strength of our case in court, again.”

Microsoft has pledged to keep “Call of Duty” available to Sony’s
SONY,
+1.78%
PlayStation console for 10 years, and will make it available for Nintendo’s
7974,
+1.63%
Switch and some cloud-gaming platforms.

The deal faces a July 18 deadline, and still must gain regulatory approval in the U.K.

Tuesday’s ruling was yet another antitrust setback for the FTC, which has failed to do much to rein in Big Tech, and one analyst told MarketWatch on Tuesday that the regulators need to do ” a much better job of picking their battles,”

Read more: After Microsoft defeat, ‘toothless’ FTC needs to pick better battles if it wants to rein in Big Tech

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July 12, 2023
After Microsoft defeat, ‘toothless’ FTC needs to pick better battles if it wants to rein in Big Tech

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s defeat as it sought to block Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard is yet another setback for an increasingly toothless regulator that needs to pick better battles with Big Tech.

On Tuesday morning, a federal judge denied the FTC’s injunction that was seeking to block the software giant’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision
ATVI,
+10.02%,
best known for its hit videogame “Call of Duty.” The FTC argued that Microsoft
MSFT,
+0.19%
could withhold “Call of Duty” and other Activision games from rival console platforms such as Sony’s PlayStation, and keep the games on its Xbox only.

Microsoft, in a show of faith, committed in writing to keep “Call of Duty” on PlayStation on parity with Xbox for 10 years, agreed with Nintendo
7974,
+1.10%
to bring “Call of Duty” to Switch and entered into several pacts to bring Activision content to several cloud gaming services, U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley noted in her decision.

“With these 10-year contracts that Microsoft made across the board with so many vendors, Nvidia
NVDA,
+0.53%,
Nintendo and others, 10 years is a really long time, in my opinion,” said Sarah Hindlian-Bowler, an analyst at Macquarie Equity Research, in an interview Tuesday. “It is long enough to cover the arrival and maturity of the cloud gaming market….She understands that 10 years is a very long long time to make a guarantee of this kind.”

Also read: Regulators face an antitrust dilemma after Meta launches Threads

Hindlian-Bowler said that she had been in the minority of Wall Street analysts in not believing the U.S. government would be able to block this deal.

“The assumption that this somehow decreases the market is going to prove to be wildly incorrect,” she said, adding that she does not believe that the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority will be able to block the deal either.

The latest upset at the FTC was also not too surprising to other Capitol Hill watchers, especially in the light of other high-profile setbacks by the agency and its once-heralded commissioner, Lina Khan. When she was sworn in as chair of the FTC in mid-2021, Khan was hailed as the sheriff who would rein in Big Tech.

“It’s hard to say I am surprised by the ruling because Khan has had a fairly unsuccessful track record,” said Owen Tedford, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors. “The regulators are pushing the boundaries, deals that previously would have gone unchallenged have now gone challenged. And they are breaking precedent because Khan and company have expressed a dislike of settlements.”

The FTC’s attempts to sue Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+1.42%
have had some defeats so far. In February, a California judge denied the FTC’s attempts to block Meta from buying a virtual-reality startup called Within Unlimited. The FTC’s suit to reverse Meta’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, filed in 2021, is still plodding along.

Additionally, the FTC recently filed a suit against Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+1.30%,
alleging that it is too difficult for consumers to cancel their Prime accounts, and the agency is reportedly also mulling another far-reaching suit against Amazon alleging that the e-commerce giant punishes merchants who do not use its logistics services. One analyst has already made a case that the FTC will lose that fight too.

“I think that the FTC is in need of some change, in need of some refreshing and in need of doing a much better job of picking their battles,” said Hindlian-Bowler. “This does feel toothless, a lot of the fights they are picking are toothless. And unfortunately, they are missing the real battle. They are missing TikTok, they are missing the real fights where we actually have national security at risk.”

In February, one of the Republican commissioners on the FTC resigned, and wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal accusing Khan of disregarding the rule of law and due process.

Compared to the European Union, which has had far more success implementing regulation to rein in Big Tech, the U.S. is still much weaker. “The EU seems to be having somewhat more success, levying big fines, getting these companies to change,” said Beacon’s Tedford. “The EU has passed these bills, but the U.S., despite these efforts, has not gotten there and is not going to get there for the next two years.”

Money spent by Big Tech to lobby Congress in a huge part of the problem, whereas in Europe, “those lawmakers feel less beholden,” he added.

More than a century ago, President Teddy Roosevelt, known for his “speak softly and carry a big stick” foreign policy, also used his bully pulpit to bust industrial monopolies.

If Khan and her staff want to follow his lead and rein in Big Tech, they need to start picking their future battles more carefully — and carry bigger sticks.

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July 11, 2023
FTC Loses First Bid to Block Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

FTC Loses First Bid to Block Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Focus Turns to U.K. Regulators.

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July 11, 2023
Activision’s Microsoft Saga Is Almost Over. It May Be Time to Sell the Stock.

The fate of

Microsoft

$69 billion purchase of

Activision

Blizzard will finally be known in the coming weeks—and investors may want to consider taking profits on the videogame maker’s stock before then.

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June 30, 2023
Judge temporarily blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision

A federal judge late Tuesday approved a request by the Federal Trade Commission to temporarily block Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order in order to “maintain the status quo,” and set a evidentiary hearing to be held June 22-23 on whether a preliminary injunction should be issued.

The deal was set to be finalized as soon as this Friday. Tuesday’s order said the deal may not close until at least five days after the court’s preliminary injunction ruling.

The acquisition has raised antitrust concerns that Microsoft
MSFT,
+0.74%,
with its Xbox gaming console, could withhold hit Activision Blizzard
ATVI,
+1.17%
videogame franchises such as “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch” from competing console platforms.

On Monday, the FTC filed for a restraining order and injunction to block the deal, arguing “a preliminary injunction is necessary to maintain the status quo and prevent interim harm to competition.”

“This loss of competition would likely result in significant harm to consumers in multiple markets at a pivotal time for the industry,” the FTC said in its filing Monday.

In a statement Tuesday evening, a Microsoft spokesperson said: “Accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the gaming market. A temporary restraining order makes sense until we can receive a decision from the court, which is moving swiftly.”

While EU regulators approved the deal in May, British regulators have tentatively scheduled appeal hearings after saying in April they would prohibit the purchase.

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June 13, 2023
Berkshire Bought Capital One, Unloaded 2 Banks

Berkshire Hathaway Sold U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Stock. Here’s What It Bought.

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May 15, 2023
Walmart, Alibaba, Target, and More Stocks to Watch This Week

Walmart, Alibaba, Target, and More Stocks to Watch This Week

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May 14, 2023
Why the U.K. is blocking Microsoft’s deal for Activision and what comes next

A U.K. regulator made the surprising decision Wednesday to block Microsoft Corp.’s deal for Activision Blizzard Inc. in a further sign of resistance to the power of Big Tech.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority announced Wednesday that it would prohibit the $69 billion deal as the merger could hurt competition in the nascent market for cloud gaming. The decision comes after the agency said in late March that it no longer thought the deal would threaten console gaming, which is a vastly larger and more established…

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April 26, 2023
EA laying off 6% of staff in cost-cutting push for videogame publisher

Electronic Arts Inc. on Wednesday announced intentions to slash 6% of its workforce as the videogame publisher looks to cut costs.

“As we drive greater focus across our portfolio, we are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams,” Chief Executive Andrew Wilson said in a note to employees that was also shared publicly.

Wilson…

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March 29, 2023
FTC sues to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of game giant Activision Blizzard

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued Microsoft Corp. to block its $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard Inc.

The acquisition, which would be Microsoft’s
MSFT,
+1.07%
largest and the biggest ever in the video gaming industry, would “enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business,” the FTC claimed.

“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. “Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”

FTC members pointed to Microsoft’s record of “acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles,” including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.

Microsoft President Brad Smith indicated the software giant will fight the lawsuit. In a statement, he said Microsoft has “been committed since Day One to addressing competition concerns.”

“While we believed in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court,” Smith said.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, in a statement, said the suit “sounds alarming, so I want to reinforce my confidence that this deal will close. The allegation that this deal is anti-competitive doesn’t align with the facts, and we believe we’ll win this challenge.”

Still, In recent weeks Microsoft has taken steps to demonstrate to regulators its acquisition of Activision would not give it an unfair advantage in the gaming market. On Tuesday, Microsoft said it would bring the “Call of Duty” franchise to Nintendo Co.’s
7974,
-1.31%
Switch, a rival of Microsoft Xbox, and Microsoft has said it would make Call of Duty available on rival Sony Group Corp.’s
SONY,
-0.06%
PlayStation.

“It’s a bad idea,” Geoffrey Manne, president of the International Center for Law and Economics, said of the FTC’s lawsuit vs. Microsoft. “There may be markets in which some activities of some of these large tech companies cause concerns, but when they are expanding into new markets or enhancing competition in markets where they aren’t leaders, we should be encouraging them, not threatening them with lawsuits.”

The government’s action in administrative court marks the first serious regulatory threat to Microsoft’s business in more than two decades, when the Justice Department brought a landmark antitrust lawsuit against the software giant that took years and was settled in 2002. Since then, Microsoft had sidestepped antitrust scrutiny and Smith in particular has focused the glare on its tech rivals Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+2.24%,
Apple Inc.
AAPL,
+1.19%,
Alphabet Inc.’s
GOOGL,
-0.94%

GOOG,
-0.89%
Google, and Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+1.26%.

Read more: Microsoft’s shadowy presence in antitrust push is angering the rest of Big Tech

Shares of Microsoft are up 1% in trading Thursday. Activision’s
ATVI,
-1.33%
stock is down 1.5%.

The FTC’s lawsuit comes the same day it is heading to court in San Jose, Calif., in what is expected to be a three-week trial to bloc Meta’s $300 million acquisition of VR fitness app maker Within.

The trial is likely to showcase an intriguing look at the agency’s ability to stifle alleged anticompetitive conduct using largely untested legal theories at a time when Congress is sitting on tech antitrust legislation.

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December 8, 2022
Microsoft to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo if Activision merger approved

Microsoft Corp. said late Tuesday it has made a “10-year commitment” to bring the massively popular “Call of Duty” videogame series to Nintendo Co. consoles, when — and if — its merger with Activision Blizzard Inc. is completed.

In a tweet late Tuesday night, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced the deal. “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play,” he said, adding: “I’m also pleased to confirm that Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on @Steam simultaneously to Xbox after we have closed the merger with Activision Blizzard King.”

Microsoft is awaiting federal approval of its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision.

A deal to share one of Activision’s
ATVI,
-0.29%
most lucrative videogame titles could appease some antitrust concerns from regulators. Spencer told Bloomberg News that a similar offer had been extended to rival Sony Corp.
SONY,
-2.62%
for its PlayStation consoles, but said that offer had so far been rebuffed.

A “Call of Duty” title has not been available on Nintendo since 2013.

In an interview with the Washington Post published Tuesday, Spencer said there was no Nintendo “Call of Duty” release date set yet, but that if the merger closes — it has a June 2023 target date — future “Call of Duty” games would be released for all platforms at once. “Once we get into the rhythm of this, our plan would be that when [a Call of Duty game] launches on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, that it would also be available on Nintendo at the same time,” he told the Post.

Nintendo shares
7974,
+0.33%
rose slightly in Tokyo trading following the news. Microsoft shares
MSFT,
-2.03%
fell Monday, and are down 17% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s
SPX,
-1.44%
17% decline this year.

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December 6, 2022
Activision Still Trades at a Big Discount to Microsoft’s Deal. Investors Are Making a Mistake.

Back in July, Barron’s made the case for buying

Activision Blizzard

stock in anticipation of

Microsoft

closing its $69 billion acquisition of the company. With

Activision

shares trading at a significant discount to the deal price, the stock looked closest to a sure thing in an increasingly uncertain market.

Four months later, the risks of the deal falling apart over antitrust concerns haven’t changed. What has changed is the outlook for Activision’s business. The firm behind Call of Duty and Candy Crush is suddenly doing quite well on its own.

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November 18, 2022