The Federal Trade Commission in the USA filed a court document claiming that Microsoft has not produced all documents requested containing details of their deal with Nintendo & Nvidia. The FDA lawyers had asked for documents containing Microsoft’s 10-year merger plan with Nintendo and Nvidia. These materials should also detail the franchise’s exclusive plans with ZeniMax games.
Microsoft Deals with Nintendo and Nvidia Still Raising Concern to FTC Lawyers
Also, the FTC wants Microsoft to cough up the actual details of their much-hyped Nintendo and Nvidia 10-year deals, among others.
They say that without offering full details, Microsoft shouldn't be permitted to use them as a defense against the FTC's attempted merger block pic.twitter.com/k5pKRmNfYz
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) March 15, 2023
The FTC requested this court filing to the judge ruling the case. The filing asked Microsoft to produce documents related to its many requests.
The complaint mentioned that Microsoft had been biased in the documents it produced. This included its next-generation gaming ecosystem.
The document argued that Microsoft failed to keep its word relating to ZeniMax titles being exclusive, like the upcoming Starfield, and could do the same with Activision Blizzard titles, like future Call of Duty releases.
“Microsoft has recently sought to enter into agreements regarding making the Activision content available on certain third parties,” wrote the FTC.
However much they intended to use the disagreements in its defence, Microsoft failed to cooperate. Microsoft refused to produce the documents related to the mentioned disagreements or communications with any third parties. It claimed to have only communicated with Nvidia, Nintendo, and Sony.
Furthermore, FTC wants every material that shows communications related to Microsoft’s attempts to make deals with other platforms. This includes Sony and any other possible third-party companies.
FTC has pointed out that Microsoft should not be able to benefit from these deals. This is if the company fails to produce internal documents concerning the deals.
Generally, the documents delivered by Microsoft with details of their 10-year mergers in the showcase do not satisfy FTC. And if this trend continues, it is likely for the judge to rule in FTC’s favour. Therefore, Microsoft needs to provide the required documents to fully legalize its multiple partnerships.