The FTC is hitting the brakes on Activision Blizzard’s Xbox Fusion test suite in August

With Xbox’s merger with Activision Blizzard likely to be blocked, the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] He’s stomping on the brakes in a test scheduled for August.

On July 18th, Xbox filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, to which the FTC responded today without any objection. While that may seem like the end of the FTC’s administrative challenge from the $69 billion merger, it’s still possible that the FTC might reconfigure or reach a settlement with Microsoft. The decision follows a recent ruling denying the FTC’s request to stop the transaction, which was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard: The Story So Far

Experts increasingly feel the FTC has little chance of winning its case against Xbox and Activision Blizzard, and members of Congress have asked the agency to drop its merger challenge.

The FTC’s battle with Xbox

The Federal Trade Commission originally sued to block the deal as an antitrust measure. He requested a delay to the deal in June, which led to a week-long test run during which he tried to prove that Call of Duty was a “unicorn” and that Xbox could and would take its own. The FTC was defeated at that point, which resulted in its application being denied. A full trial is still scheduled for August, but with the main argument already defeated, there was little the FTC could do to advance its case.

Xbox and Activision Blizzard are now turning their attention to the UK Markets and Competition Authority [CMA] They are trying to agree on a merger that looks increasingly likely to succeed. Xbox is expected to give up some control of its cloud business as part of a potential settlement with CMA.

With negotiations continuing, Xbox and Activision Blizzard have chosen to extend the deadline for the merger to October 18, when it is expected to be completed.

If the deal goes through, Xbox will control several major franchises, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcrat, as well as King’s catalog of mobile titles. Xbox recently signed an agreement with PlayStation promising that Call of Duty will remain on the platform for at least 10 years.

For more information, see the full FTC test summary.

Kat Bailey is IGN News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have advice? Send her a direct message at the_katbot.