Call of Duty won’t be Microsoft property just yet after FTC gets restraining order request granted

The Federal Trade Commission’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction has now been granted, thereby restricting Microsoft from closing their deal with Activision for the time being. This restriction is only set to last until June 22 and 23, during which an evidentiary hearing will then be conducted that would decide whether the FTC’s motion for an injunction gets approved.

If the injunction does end up getting endorsed by the federal court, this would delay the purchase of Activision even further than it already has. If it gets denied, however, then Microsoft and Activision would be given the chance to complete their deal “after 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the fifth business day after the Court rules on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction or a date set by the Court, whichever is later.”

Following the South Korean Fair Trade Commission’s recent approval of the deal, though, it seems unlikely that this motion is going to go through as several relevant entities have already signed off on the deal. With this in mind, the earliest date that the Microsoft and Activision transaction could be completed on would be around early July, provided there aren’t any more unforeseen setbacks during that time.

According to a report from The Verge, however, the deal is apparently supposed to close before a deadline on July 18. If it isn’t completed before then, Microsoft would reportedly have to pay Activision a breakup fee of $3 billion, which is a significant amount of money even for a largely successful tech conglomerate.

Alas, if you’ve been looking forward to this saga’s conclusion, then you’ll have to continue waiting as a number of different entities continue to throw several wrenches in the works. But with most organizations already having given their stamp of approvals, it may only be a matter of time until we see the agreement signed, sealed, and delivered.