Microsoft Plays The ‘Nice Guy” Strategy to Close Activision’s Megadeal

In order to secure regulatory approval for Microsoft’s $69 million acquisition of, Brad Smith (the Microsoft president) met with Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

Smith’s plan, which included the offer to make Call of Duty’s blockbuster video game available for competitive reasons, failed. Khan’s agency filed suit against Khan the day after they met to stop the blockbuster deal.

Smith, however, was optimistic in an interview this week. Khan said that Khan smiled a bit when he offered to give peace a chance but she declined my offer. “So whenever someone can smile even a little and end a meeting, there’s always hope that we can sit together in the future.”

Smith’s peacemaking remarks reflect how Microsoft plans to approach Activision’s next phase. He said that the company is not abandoning the acquisition and will continue to try its “nice guy strategy”.

According to people familiar with the strategy, Microsoft plans to win over European regulators by implementing one strategy. The Activision deal approval could allow the United States to settle and allow the acquisition to proceed or to be heard by a quicker, more favorable court, people familiar with the matter said.

Microsoft responded to the FTC lawsuit on Thursday. It argued that the deal would increase access for gamers.

The filing stated that the antitrust laws were supposed to encourage, not hinder, consumers from obtaining high-quality content in more formats and at lower prices.