Judge Edward Davila said in a ruling that it "is necessary to maintain the status quo" while the court considers a longer term injunction on the purchase as requested by regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
A hearing was set for June 22 and June 23 in San Francisco federal court to hear evidence in the matter, according to the ruling.
The ruling came a day after the FTC asked a federal court prevent Microsoft from completing its blockbuster buy of Activision Blizzard as it considers regulatory action.
"A preliminary injunction is necessary to... prevent interim harm" while the FTC determines whether "the proposed acquisition violates US antitrust law," the regulator said in the filing.
Tuesday's ruling bars Microsoft from moving forward with the deal before the court decides whether to issue a preliminary injunction sought by regulators.
In requesting the preliminary injunction at the Northern California District Court, the US government sought to prevent the companies from finalizing the deal before a July 18 deadline.
An FTC hearing is set for August to argue the merits of the deal, and a restraining order would block the accord before that process has run its course.
The California judge would need to agree to stop the deal after hearing arguments by the FTC on why the buyout is illegal and from Microsoft on why it should go ahead.
"We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court," Microsoft President Brad Smith said on Monday.
"We believe accelerating the legal process in the US will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market," he added.
Xbox-owner Microsoft launched a bid for Activision Blizzard early last year, seeking to establish the world's third biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony.
While the European Union has greenlit the deal, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked it in April, arguing it would harm competition in cloud gaming.
The FTC in December sued to block the transaction with Activision Blizzard, maker of the popular "Call of Duty" title, over concerns that it would stifle competition.
The regulator is led by Lina Khan, an antitrust academic who had been an advocate of breaking up the biggest tech firms before she was nominated by President Joe Biden to the job in 2021.
Khan has accused Meta, Facebook's parent company, of stifling competition by buying up startups and the FTC has carried out investigations of Amazon.
The US Department of Justice, meanwhile, has filed lawsuits arguing that Google has committed antitrust violations in online search as well as in advertising.
Ubisoft sets sights on VR, AI shakeups in future of gaming
Los Angeles (AFP) June 14, 2023 -
French videogame titan Ubisoft is eyeing artificial intelligence and virtual reality as the next big things in gaming, its chief executive said, especially ahead of the release of Apple's new mixed reality headset.
Ubisoft has long been known to take chances on new gaming innovations -- the company launched an early partnership with Nintendo on its 2006 sensation the Wii console.
Now, ahead of next year's release of Apple's Vision Pro headset, Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot is ready to make another bet on the future of gaming -- that virtual reality is around the corner.
After a decade that saw the revolutionary rise of free-to-play smartphone games and titles streamed directly from the internet cloud, Guillemot thinks VR is likely to be the next major industry disruptor.
"VR is eventually going to happen," he told AFP Monday at a company showcase event in Los Angeles.
"Apple investing massively in the field is fantastic for all of us," he added.
With Vision Pro, Apple joins Facebook's Meta, which had been the driving force behind VR video games, in lobbying studios to adapt versions of hit titles for its virtual reality Quest device.
"Apple's commitment and investment will take that industry to a new level," said Guillemot, and Ubisoft "for sure" envisions developing games for the Vision Pro one day.
"It's going to come," Guillemot said, as soon as enough of the $3,500 headsets are in users' hands.
- Expanding horizons -
Designing games for new platforms "doesn't always work out perfectly," warned consumer behavior analysis firm Circana's executive director of videogames Mat Piscatella.
"But, by supporting new market entrants, Ubisoft is usually well-positioned should that new product or service type succeed, and placing many bets seems to have generally worked out pretty well for the company over the years," the analyst said.
And in an era of consolidation in the game industry, Piscatella praised Ubisoft's diversification strategy as the company broadens its entertainment offerings.
CEO Guillemot said Ubisoft would continue to expand into film and TV streaming content.
Ubisoft is behind the AppleTV hit "Mythic Quest," a comedy series set -- naturally -- in a video game studio.
And on Monday, the company announced that its animated series "Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix" will debut on Netflix later this year.
The series is set in "a dystopian, cyberpunk version of 1992" and features versions of characters from Ubisoft games.
"The goal here is to make sure that our brands can reach more players all over the world," Guillemot told AFP.
"Being on Netflix or Amazon Prime or other networks can make those brands better known and let everyone in the world participate in our creations."
At the Los Angeles event Monday, Ubisoft also announced a free-to-play version of its blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" franchise, along with a virtual reality version of the game compatible with Meta's Quest gear.
In addition, Ubisoft teased a video game spun off the blockbuster "Avatar" movies as well as a "Star Wars Outlaws" title made with LucasFilm.
- AI games -
Also on deck to shake up the world of video games is artificial intelligence, said Guillemot.
He said he sees generative AI as a "fantastic opportunity," especially given how eagerly users have taken to the technology since the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT bot was released late last year.
"It's like inventing the mouse for the personal computer, it changed everything," Guillemot said.
"Games are going to be more intelligent; as creators of games, we have to see how close we can get to what exists in real life."
For example, a game might use generative AI to tap into computing power stored in the cloud, giving every character in its universe a spontaneous life of its own -- players could encounter these personalities the same way they might meet a stranger on the street in the real world.
"Video games (are) a $200 billion industry today because we've always surprised gamers with new things," Guillemot said.
"Gen AI and VR and cloud will make the industry even more attractive and fun."
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