FTC withdraws its in-house challenge to Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard deal

The other part was its pursuit of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. A US federal judge denied that request earlier this month, and an appeals court also turned down its request to put a hold on the deal.

Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard still haven’t completed the acquisition yet, and recently announced an extension of their mutually-agreed deadline until October. The FTC could re-file this challenge, and the two continue to negotiate with the UK’s CMA. As we noted earlier this week, there are signs things may not take that long — Xbox head Phil Spencer told employees the two companies “remain optimistic that we will get our acquisition over the finish line.”