The regulator is also requesting the tech giant to provide more information on future plans for ZeniMax exclusivities and Microsoft's "next generation gaming ecosystem."
On March 14, the US Federal Trade Commission released a new court filing, claiming that Microsoft has failed to provide the requested documents, which include information on ZeniMax exclusivity and more details on the company's decade-long agreements with Nintendo and NVIDIA.
In its request to the judge in the case, the FTC argues that Microsoft has not provided all the relevant documents and has been selective in choosing which documents to disclose, including those related to their "next generation gaming ecosystem" and future plans for ZeniMax exclusivities.
When the regulator filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in December last year, it claimed that Microsoft has a record of acquiring game companies and using their "valuable gaming content to suppress competition" from other console makers, pointing to Microsoft's decision to make several of Bethesda's titles Microsoft exclusives, despite previously giving assurances to European antitrust authorities that it had no intention of withholding games from rival consoles.
In a new document, the FTC reiterated this thought suggesting that Microsoft might break its promises regarding Activision Blizzard titles, including the Call of Duty franchise.
The US watchdog is now demanding that Microsoft produce documents related to its 10-year deals with Nintendo and NVIDIA as well as any communication regarding its attempts to strike similar deals with other companies, including Sony and potentially unknown third-party companies. The FTC believes that Microsoft should not be allowed to use these deals as a justification for the acquisition to regulatory bodies unless the tech giant provides internal documents pertaining to these deals.
Additionally, the regulator has requested "documents related to [redacted], the code name for Microsoft’s next generation gaming ecosystem." It is unclear what this ecosystem entails – it could pertain to the company's future console plans, a new gaming service, or its cloud gaming plans.
You can find the FTC's new filing here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.