The lawsuit against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, filed by a group of everyday gamers, has reportedly been settled and permanently dismissed

It was first filed back in 2022

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Almost two years after it was originally filed, an antitrust lawsuit againstMicrosoftfiled by a group of gamers has reportedly been dismissed for good.

Microsoft’s acquisition ofActivisionfaced a lot of pushback from the likes of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when its plans were announced, but one group that didn’t give up even after the buyout went through was the team behind the so-called ‘gamers’ lawsuit,' known officially as Dante DeMartini et al v. Microsoft Corporation. As itsunofficialname suggests, this antitrust lawsuit wasfiled by a group of regular ol' gamers, who sought to block the acquisition on the grounds that the merger could harm competition in the games industry – the same sort of concerns echoed by the FTC.

Now though,The Hollywood Reporter reportsthat as of yesterday, the case has been settled, and reportedly dismissed permanently, so it can’t be filed again later down the line. It’s not been revealed what the terms of the agreement were, but both sides will be paying their own legal fees. So, that’s it.

It’s, frankly, not very surprising to see the case end up like this. After all, theFTC’s own efforts to stop the merger were denied, although it more recently submitted a new filing calling the new Xbox Game Pass Standard subscription tieran example of “product degradation,“which is “exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.” A response from Microsoft alleged this letter from the FTC"presents a misleading, extra-record account of the facts,“however.

October 13 marked a full year since the Microsoft and Activision merger was closed. Since then, it’s been an undeniably tough year for Microsoft’s gaming staff, with ahuge wave of around 1,900 layoffs in Januaryfollowed byreports of a further 650 job cuts in September.

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I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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