Activision Blizzard
American video game holding company
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| October 2024 | Microsoft and the gamers reached a settlement to terminate the antitrust lawsuit. |
| July 2024 | The FTC further amended its case following Microsoft's Game Pass rate increases and creation of a low-cost tier, arguing these actions harmed consumers and contradicted earlier merger commitments. |
| July 2024 | SAG-AFTRA initiated a labor strike against Activision and other video game publishers over concerns about AI protections for voice actors and digital likenesses. |
| May 16 2024 | Activision announced the establishment of Warsaw-based studio Elsewhere Entertainment, dedicated to developing a new narrative-driven AAA IP with talent from franchises like The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, and Far Cry. |
| March 8 2024 | 600 Activision QA workers in Texas, Minnesota, and California unionized under the Communication Workers of America (CWA), creating the largest union in the U.S. video game industry. |
| February 2024 | The FTC argued against Microsoft's 1,900 job cuts in January, claiming they were inconsistent with previous merger assurances. |
| February 5 2024 | Johanna Faries was appointed as the new president of Blizzard, marking a significant leadership change for the company, as she was not a traditional gaming or tech insider. |
| January 25 2024 | Microsoft announced major workforce reduction of 1,900 jobs (approximately 8% of Microsoft Gaming workforce), affecting multiple Activision Blizzard studios and resulting in the cancellation of a six-year survival game project. |
| January 18 2024 | Microsoft completed the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, two years after the initial announcement. |
| December 29 2023 | Bobby Kotick retired as CEO of Activision Blizzard after staying in the role until this date, as previously promised. |
| December 15 2023 | DFEH (now California Civil Rights Department) and Activision Blizzard announced a settlement, with Activision Blizzard agreeing to set aside $54 million to address pay and promotion inequalities. |
| November 2023 | CMA announced plans to revamp its merger review procedures in response to criticism over the acquisition review process. |
| October 2023 | European Commission affirms previous approval and confirms no further review is needed ahead of the acquisition's closure. |
| October 2023 | Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, with the company to continue operating as a separate business within the Microsoft Gaming division. |
| October 2023 | Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with Bobby Kotick remaining CEO during the regulatory review process. |
| October 16 2023 | Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) discontinues review of the acquisition |
| October 13 2023 | CMA fully approved the revised terms for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. |
| October 13 2023 | The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved the revised terms of the acquisition. |
| October 9 2023 | Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) approves the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal |
| September 27 2023 | The FTC reopened its case against the merger, though unable to block its completion. |
| September 22 2023 | CMA provisionally approved the revised acquisition, with some limited residual concerns to resolve. |
| August 2023 | Microsoft announced a 15-year agreement with Ubisoft to license Activision Blizzard titles, aimed at appeasing the CMA's concerns. |
| August 7 2023 | New Zealand's Commerce Commission approves the acquisition |
| July 21 2023 | Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) adjourned the hearing, with Microsoft, Activision/Blizzard, and the CMA agreeing to pause their legal battle to negotiate. |
| July 20 2023 | The FTC formally withdrew its challenge to the acquisition, though announcing intent to refile later. |
| July 18 2023 | Original planned closing date for the acquisition, which was subsequently extended due to regulatory reviews. |
| July 17 2023 | The Supreme Court denied the emergency request to halt the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. |
| July 16 2023 | The gamers filed an emergency request at the Supreme Court of the United States to halt the merger. |
| July 16 2023 | Sony signed a 'binding agreement' with Microsoft that committed to keeping Call of Duty on the PlayStation family. |
| July 14 2023 | The Ninth Circuit court denied the emergency appeal to block the merger. |
| July 14 2023 | CMA announced an extension of their investigation by six weeks to August 29, 2023, pending review of a new proposal from Microsoft. |
| July 13 2023 | Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) approves the acquisition |
| July 12 2023 | The FTC formally filed an appeal to Judge Corley's denial with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. |
| July 11 2023 | Judge Corley denied a permanent injunction, lifting the temporary restraining order and allowing Microsoft to proceed with the Activision Blizzard acquisition. |
| June 22 2023 | A hearing to determine a preliminary injunction began, lasting until June 30, presided over by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. |
| June 13 2023 | A temporary restraining order was granted by the court to halt the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. |
| June 12 2023 | The FTC requested a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. |
| May 2023 | A federal court denied a preliminary injunction in the refiled lawsuit, stating the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate potential damage from the merger. |
| May 2023 | Microsoft filed an appeal to the CMA's decision, outlining five points of rebuttal focusing on cloud gaming market assessment. |
| April 2023 | The gamers refiled their antitrust lawsuit with additional evidence provided by Sony. |
| April 27 2023 | Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee approves the acquisition |
| April 27 2023 | Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee approves the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal |
| April 26 2023 | CMA formally ruled against the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger, citing concerns about cloud gaming market dominance and Call of Duty platform availability. |
| April 17 2023 | South Africa's Competition Commission approves the acquisition |
| March 2023 | Following Microsoft's commitments to release Call of Duty on multiple platforms for ten years, the CMA changed its initial stance on the acquisition. |
| March 2023 | A judge dismissed the original gamers' antitrust lawsuit, citing insufficient evidence of industry harm. |
| March 28 2023 | Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) approves the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition |
| February 2023 | Sony's request to drop a subpoena filed by Microsoft was denied by the FTC, which sought internal documentation about third-party exclusivity deals. |
| February 2023 | Activision Blizzard settled with the SEC, agreeing to pay a fine for lacking proper controls and procedures to collect and analyze employee complaints of workplace misconduct. |
| February 21 2023 | Microsoft meets with EC regulators and announces ten-year agreements with Nintendo and Nvidia to address concerns about game platform exclusivity. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Activision, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard & Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.