Microsoft's £55 billion ($69 billion) takeover of Activision Blizzard has been temporarily blocked.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has issues with how the takeover would impact competition in cloud gaming, won a temporary restraining order, which the court heard "is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending."
It means the deal cannot go through until further hearings.
The two hearings will take place starting on June 22 in San Francisco.
The FTC has problems with Microsoft's Xbox console having exclusivity to Activision games, leaving out Nintendo and Sony.
Microsoft and 'Call of Duty' maker Activision only have until June 16 to oppose the preliminary injunction with the FTC responding by June 20.
The tech giant's efforts to buy the company have been blocked in the UK by the Competition and Markets Authority - but Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox brand, insists that the firm remains committed to the takeover.
During an appearance on the 'What's Next for Gaming' panel last week, Spencer explained: "I'd say the company, Microsoft – which is obviously important when you're thinking about spending $70 billion, which is crazy to think about – they're very committed.
"We are very committed. We think there's a real capability that Activision Blizzard King has, specifically in mobile and PC, and just growing our portfolio that will help us find more players and reach more players."
The boss also revealed that Microsoft remains confident about closing the deal, despite recent setbacks.
He said: "We're out there to find solutions with the regulators that have questions. And that's what we're actively doing from Brad Smith, who is our chief counsel at the company, [or] Sarah spending a lot of time on the road with regulators, we're trying to get to solutions.
"We did that with the European Commission, and I'm confident that we'll find solutions for the other areas as well. It's taking time. It's taking focus. But I'm confident."
