Microsoft Has Reportedly Been Granted Access to PlayStation Documents by FTC

We have seen for the past few months how the struggles to get Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard over the line aren’t just playing out at government watchdogs and in the public eye, but in courtrooms (with Sony as the main culprit) as well.

In one of those many battles, Microsoft is making demands of its rival PlayStation manufacturer that for some reasons, for Sony, constitute “obvious harassment”. However, it now seems as if FTC has finally let Xbox view the PlayStation documents.

Microsoft Granted PlayStation’s Documents

In a recent development in the ongoing legal battle between Microsoft and Sony, the FTC has granted Xbox access to requested PlayStation documents. This decision was made after Sony filed a motion on February 13, 2023, to reject Microsoft’s request.

In their request, Microsoft had asked Sony to reveal almost everything, with a few exceptions that would not have revealed anything interesting.

Microsoft had asked for almost full disclosure from Sony, with a few exceptions that wouldn’t have revealed anything particularly interesting. The judge has stated that,

Even where a subpoenaed third party adequately demonstrates that compliance with the subpoena will impose a substantial degree of burden, inconvenience, and cost, that will not excuse producing information that appears generally relevant to the issues in the proceeding,”

This simply means that Sony will have to produce information that is expected to be very revealing, and not stuff that isn’t relevant to the case.

Sony must submit reports dating back five years, covering the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, which are all relevant for the custodial record searches that began on January 1, 2019. Furthermore, this case is not about what was done in the past, but rather about the potential for future anti-competitive practices.

Sony’s interference in Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has only fueled the fire of the controversy already surrounding the deal. But a major turn in the case came when the FTC decided to let Xbox see the documents it had requested from PlayStation. Whatever these records end up revealing, the case is about to get very interesting.

EU Regulators Have Forwarded the Deadline to April 25th

EU regulators are currently reviewing whether Microsoft’s purchase of Activision would break any antitrust laws. The regulators have now extended their deadline for making a decision on the acquisition until April 25th. This means that they need more time to carefully consider all the details of the acquisition and decide if it should be approved or not.

It remains to be seen how the deal pans out, however, till then, we will keep you updated on any developments as new information becomes available.