The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has lost its appeal of a ruling in its case against Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In 2023, the FTC requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the companies from finalizing the deal while its legal challenge to the acquisition from 2022 was in progress.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a legal challenge by the Federal Trade Commission to Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard.

While many governing bodies around the world approved of the deal, the USA's Federal Trade Commission was one of the few to stand against it — in fact, it's still fighting its corner. Essentially, the FTC has been fighting the acquisition since it was first mooted, arguing that it would be harmful to industry competition.