The US government is once again trying to stop Microsoft's already-approved $69 billion of gaming giant Activision Blizzard. Speaking before a federal appeals court in California, the FTC argued that the judge which approved the deal back in October got it wrong. Rather than prove that Microsoft's acquisition of the gaming company was anticompetitive (a standard FTC lawyer Imad Abyad said was too high), the federal agency instead believes it only had "to show that Microsoft had the ability and incentive to withhold Activision's games from rival game platforms to prove" their case, reports Reuters.

For its part, Microsoft claims that the world would be a better place with the merger, notes CNN. "​​It is not a violation of the antitrust laws to give consumers something new, that’s beneficial,” an attorney representing Microsoft argued in response to the FTC, “unless they present some evidence of it, which they didn’t do.”

On it's investor relations site, Microsoft attempted to drill home its point by highlighting 37 VC firms "who collectively manage assets exceeding $130 billion" and who claim to support Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal as part of the "crucial role of mergers and acquisitions in the innovation and investment ecosystem." In other words: Microsoft wants the government to know that some of the most powerful names in tech are on its side, and hurting their investment would be a very bad idea.

The Verdict
Subscription gaming and cloud computing (which supports gaming) have become major revenue streams for Microsoft. This $69 billion deal not only underlines that, but could potentially lead Microsoft to dominate the field. The FTC might be fighting an uphill battle (especially after a UK court put its own stamp of approval on the acquisition), but the appeal is now in the hands of a three-judge panel in California.