Microsoft-Activision Challenge Tests FTC Emerging Markets Focus

The Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to Microsoft Corp.‘s $68.7 billion bid to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. will help define the scope of its ability to police over-the-horizon competitive threats.

The agency argues the deal not only would choke off gaming console market competition, but would tilt the playing field in still-developing markets for subscription and cloud-based gaming.

That focus is integral to the FTC’s aggressive approach to policing Big Tech under chair Lina Khan. But blocking a merger to head off concentration in emerging markets is tougher than moving against conduct in established ones, attorneys say.

“There are ...