Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard was and still is being scrutinized by several government agencies. For example, the US FTC filed a lawsuit against the parties involved citing violations of competition laws in the country in a bid to block the deal’s approval. Now, the same regulatory wants to know more about the licensing deal with Nintendo.
Sony, the most vocal critic of the purchase, is accusing Microsoft of planning to withhold the Call of Duty franchise once the merger gets approved. The PlayStation console maker has gone as far as saying that Microsoft may choose to release a broken version of the game to stifle competition.
Microsoft has responded to the criticism by offering deals to several console and cloud gaming platforms. Nintendo is one of the companies that agreed to the ten-year licensing deal for the Call of Duty franchise
In a report by TweakTown, the US competition regulator has reportedly issued a subpoena to Nintendo of America’s vice president of publisher and developer relations Steve Singer. The FTC learned that Singer negotiated the deal between Nintendo and Microsoft.
The FTC apparently wants Singer to give a testimony about the licensing deal. The exec may be called to deliver a 7-hour-long testimony to the FTC’s Complaints Counsel.
The US antitrust regulator reportedly inquired about the identity of the Nintendo executive that negotiated the deal on March 16. Lawyers for Nintendo of America alleged that the FTC did not issue a subpoena until it learned that Singer was the Nintendo executive present at the negotiations. According to Nintendo’s legal counsel, the FTC’s identity request and subpoena were issued well passed the case’s subpoena deadline of March 3.
It is unclear at this point what information the FTC is seeking. It may want to clarify why Nintendo accepted the deal and why Sony has not. The antitrust regulator may also want more specific information about the terms of the licensing deal.
In response, Nintendo has asked the FTC judge to dismiss the subpoena on the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger. The company has submitted a motion to quash the FTC’s “untimely” subpoena. Lawyers for Nintendo argue that the request was submitted too late.
“Complaint Counsel purportedly served the Singer Subpoena on March 29 or 30, 2023. Therefore, the Singer Subpoena is untimely, and should be quashed,” Nintendo of America’s lawyer Leonard Gordon wrote.
The motion to quash is still being reviewed by the FTC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell. No decision has been made on the motion as of writing.
