WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday argued in federal court for a preliminary injunction to temporarily block Microsoft’s acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard, which would stop the deal from closing before the government’s case against it is heard by an administrative judge. “If this deal is completed, the combined company … is likely…

LONDON—Britain will block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming, dealing an unexpected blow to the biggest-ever deal in gaming. The country’s antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft’s commitment to offer access to Activision’s multi-billion dollar “Call of Duty” franchise to…

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it has stopped manufacturing all Xbox One consoles to focus on producing its next-generation consoles. “To focus on production of Xbox Series X|S, we stopped production for all Xbox One consoles by the end of 2020,” said Cindy Walker, senior director of Xbox Console Product Marketing. Microsoft originally discontinued its…

Microsoft Corp., on Tuesday forecast a strong end to the calendar year thanks to its booming cloud business but said supply chain woes will continue to dog key units such as those producing its Surface laptops and Xbox gaming consoles. The company beat Wall Street expectations for its first quarter ended Sept. 30, with pandemic-induced…

A Wisconsin family have their teenage son to thank for getting his four little sisters outside when their house caught fire earlier this month. The young hero, 13-year-old Briar Omar, and his siblings smelled smoke minutes after their parents left for the grocery store to pick up dinner Sept. 5. “Me and my sisters smelled…