Update: The 'Gamer's Lawsuit' has been denied by the Supreme Court. Justice Elena Kagan denied the request for an injunction to prevent Microsoft and Activision Blizzard just two days after the 10 random gamers behind the lawsuit filed their request.
Kagan denies https://t.co/UYQ9wnC4zA pic.twitter.com/gGP5l2CJWqJuly 18, 2023
Original story: The 'Gamer's Lawsuit' is inexplicably petitioning the Supreme Court to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
As Axios reporter Stephen Totilo first noted earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals Court denied the Gamer's Lawsuit an injunction last week to block Microsoft's ongoing purchase of Activision Blizzard. Dissatisfied with yet another setback, the gamers are now headed right to the very top of the legal chain: The United States Supreme Court.
Well, they're trying to, at least. A new legal document from the gamers, addressed to Associate Justice Elena Kagan of the Supreme Court, petitions the judge to intervene and grant the group an injunction against Microsoft, so as to stop the company from acquiring Activision Blizzard and holding off the two corporations from merging.
The 10 gamers are going big, because they definitely are not going home, even with their latest setback last week. The Gamer's Lawsuit against Microsoft's purchase was first dismissed by a US Court earlier this year in March, but it would rear its head again with some backing from none other than Sony, who obviously have a tiny interest in Microsoft not acquiring Activision Blizzard.
And yes, just so we're clear about one thing, this is still a lawsuit from 10 random gamers against Microsoft. Weirdly enough, the Gamer's Lawsuit is the only legal opposition to Microsoft's buyout outside of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which is still yet to be persuaded to rule in favor of the proposed merger.
The fate of one of the biggest corporate mergers in the history of the games industry might well come down to a lawsuit from 10 gamers. Well, that's assuming the US Supreme Court even agrees to hear the case, because if they don't, it's straight back to the curb for the Gamer's Lawsuit, and it's hard to see where the case goes from being blocked by the highest legal authority in the US.
The Federal Trade Commission lost its last-ditch attempt to stop the merger, and now Microsoft is officially cleared to acquire Activision Blizzard in the US.
