Read Microsoft’s response to Activision Blizzard’s FTC lawsuit

Microsoft has filed its response to a lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission to block the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the 37-page document, which you can read in full below, Microsoft pleads its case for why the $68.7 billion acquisition should proceed — and also defends its acquisition of Bethesda owner ZeniMax, while admitting that it plans to make three future titles from the company exclusive to Xbox and PC.

Microsoft’s submission counters the FTC’s concerns in general, and also addresses the regulator’s specific arguments. It also contains a lot of the trademark self-mutilation Microsoft has become known for in recent months, as it attempts to portray itself as a relatively weak player in the gaming space compared to its competitors.

In its complaint, the FTC argued that acquiring Activision Blizzard “would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox game consoles, rapidly growing subscription content, and cloud gaming business.” There was also a lot of anxiety about the future Call of duty, to the point where Xbox boss Phil Spencer has publicly promised that the franchise will be available on PlayStation for as long as PlayStations exist. In its response to the FTC, Microsoft cites its promise to expand, not limit, the availability of Activision’s flagship series by bringing it to the Nintendo Switch.

In a statement to the edgeActivision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also argued the deal was done, saying:

There is no reasonable and legitimate reason to prevent our transaction from being closed. Our industry has tremendous competition and few barriers to entry. We’ve seen more hardware than ever before giving gamers a wide range of options to play games. The engines and tools are freely available to developers big and small. The breadth of distribution options for games has never been more widespread. We believe we will prevail on the merits of the case.

Here’s a direct statement from Microsoft President Brad Smith:

Even with confidence in our case, we remain committed to creative solutions with regulators that will protect competition, consumers and those working in the technology sector. As we have learned from lawsuits in the past, the door is never closed to the opportunity to find an agreement that can benefit everyone.

Here’s the rest of Microsoft’s argument for why there should be no antitrust concerns when buying Activision Blizzard:

Update, 10:05 p.m. ET: Added statement from MS President Brad Smith.