New York City sues Activision Blizzard over Microsoft deal

By Cristina Alexander May 4, 2022

Activision Blizzard is now in even more legal trouble than before. New York City has sued the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher over the acquisition deal it made with Microsoft in January.

According to Axios, which broke the news, the lawsuit was filed in Delaware by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (a pension fund for the city’s firefighters, police officers and teachers) on April 26, and the public version of the complaint was shared on May 2.

The group alleges in the complaint that CEO Bobby Kotick only rushed the $70 billion sale of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft in order for him and the board of directors “to escape liability and accountability entirely” for the sexual misconduct and gender discrimination that took place at the company, which caused its stocks to plummet. When Microsoft agreed to buy the company for $95 per share, they say it devalued the stock even further. The discrimination allegations are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing in July 2021.

“Given Kotick’s personal responsibility and liability for Activision’s broken workplace, it should’ve been clear to the board that he was unfit to negotiate a sale of the company,” the complaint reads. “Not only did the merger offer Kotick and his fellow directors a means to escape liability for their egregious breaches of fiduciary duty, but it also offered Kotick the chance to realize substantial non-ratable benefits.”

New York demanded Activision Blizzard send a list of documents and other materials related to the sale, including information on five potential buyers and board memos. The city said has also been pressing the company for internal documents since last fall to find out the extent of Kotick’s knowledge about Activision Blizzard’s “frat boy culture” of sexual harassment and abuse during his tenure, which The Wall Street Journal reported about in November.

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Cristina Alexander

Gaming/Mobile Writer

Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…

Gaming

Move over, Wordle: The New York Times has a new puzzle game

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The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle's continued success -- and it's all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now.
In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible.

Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well. I solved today's puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee.
In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team's process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it's worth moving into a more active development phase "where the game is coded and the designs are finalized." So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn't get the response it is hoping for.
Digits' beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games' website

Gaming

U.K. wants Call of Duty removed from Microsoft’s Activision acquisition

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

Microsoft has hit a major roadblock in its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, as the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has determined that the deal "could harm U.K. gamers." For the deal to go through, the CWA is suggesting some major concessions, like Activision Blizzard divesting in the Call of Duty or Activision segments of its business ahead of the acquisition.
A notice of possible remedies document asks Activision Blizzard to do one of the following three things if it doesn't want the acquisition to be potentially prohibited.

"Divestiture of the business associated with Call of Duty."
"Divestiture of the Activision segment of Activision Blizzard, Inc., which would include the business associated with Call of Duty."
"Divestiture of the Activision segment and the Blizzard segment of Activision Blizzard Inc., which would include the business associated with Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, among other titles."

Gaming

FTC files lawsuit to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will sue Microsoft to block its acquisition of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher Activision Blizzard.
A 3-to-1 vote ultimately determined the FTC's decision to issue the lawsuit as the commission fears that the deal would give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the gaming industry and hurt innovation. FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova explained the FTC's intent in a press release.
"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," she said. "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."
That press release also highlights the FTC's belief that Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media is problematic due to a track record of "using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles." In addition, after the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft could potentially "harm competition by manipulating Activision’s pricing, degrading Activision’s game quality or player experience on rival consoles and gaming services, changing the terms and timing of access to Activision’s content, or withholding content from competitors entirely."
This $69 billion acquisition has dominated gaming industry headlines all year as Microsoft has been doing all it can to make the deal seem favorable to the industry. As recently as December 6, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer emphasized the potential positives of this acquisition, confirming plans to continue to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms and Steam for 10 years if the Activision Blizzard merger is complete.
By filing this complaint, the FTC begins proceedings that will result in a hearing and trial before an administrative law judge to determine whether or not Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard.