Players argue Microsoft Activision bid is an attempt to 'eliminate PlayStation' in new lawsuit

A new lawsuit has put forth the idea that Microsoft's Xbox were trying to “eliminate PlayStation” from the competition with their $69b Activision deal.

The deal between Microsoft and Activision has faced several challenges over the last few months, most notably from the UK market which has blocked the deal for 10 years, believing it would hurt competition in the game industry. Industry insiders have since warned that Xbox and Activision are considering all possibilities to work around the UK block, including removing Activision Blizzard games from the UK market entirely. Despite initially sounding like drastic action, experts have warned it could be the likely course of action, mainly due to the limited options available to both parties.

Once the deal goes through, Xbox would have access to the extensive library of Activision Blizzard titles, most notably Call Of Duty and Overwatch games. This would present Xbox with the opportunity to make future games from the publishers exclusive to Xbox consoles, as well as add many more games to its increasingly expansive Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

Now, the deal is facing criticism in the US, through a lawsuit put forward by ten gamers who believe the deal would create a monopoly in the industry that could severely harm competitiveness. The case was initially dismissed, but now the plaintiffs have provided new evidence in the form of redacted statements from Xbox from 2020, that implies the company’s main strategy was to put PlayStation out of business.

UPDATE: A Microsoft rep shares a significant update to this. While they still can't divulge the contents of the email, they're able to now say that it was sent in 2019

That means that whatever anti-PlayStation sentiment/strategy it may contain preceded MS' offer for Activision https://t.co/HqbmfbjzD0

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 20, 2023

The evidence has been identified as an internal email sent by the head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty, discussing the company’s strategy to get ahead in the gaming market. It’s been described as “uncontroverted evidence that Microsoft had the intention to put its main competition, the Sony PlayStation, out of the market.” Xbox has since responded to the lawsuit, saying the email will have no bearing on the final decision of the case, and is simply an internal conversation that should remain private.

It’s still unclear if the Activision Blizzard deal will go through or not, and considering the unprecedented size and status of the deal, it’s difficult to predict what will happen with it over the next few months. Despite everything though, Xbox head Phil Spencer is still “confident” that the deal will go through, which would be a huge win for the Xbox brand, as well as gamers on the platform.