The global video game industry has evolved into a multi-sided digital ecosystem and has become one of the largest entertainment sectors, eclipsing film and music combined. In this article, McCarter & English partner and former DOJ antitrust attorney Robin Crauthers examines how competition law has adapted to this sector by comparing the treatment of the Microsoft–Activision merger and platform governance litigation such as Epic Games v. Apple, with consumer-protection initiatives against exploitative monetization. Focusing on jurisdictional market definition, theories of anticompetitive harm, and the overlap between antitrust and consumer-protection enforcement, Robin argues that remedies in video games increasingly resemble digital access regulation and that divergent national approaches threaten regulatory fragmentation in a truly global industry.
11.14.2025