The United States government is suing Microsoft over its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and the first pre-trial hearing took place this week. As part of the proceedings, a lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission said Microsoft and the FTC have yet to engage in any "substantive" discussions about a potential settlement deal in the high-profile case, according to Reuters.

A settlement of some kind is one of the potential outcomes in this case. Microsoft could, for example, agree to make some concessions to help appease the FTC and close the deal, but what those concessions could be is anyone's guess at this stage.

The FTC lawyer, James Weingarten, said only that there have not been any "substantive" talks between Microsoft and the government about a potential settlement. The word substantive is open-ended, and it's possible the two sides have talked and that whatever Microsoft might have offered doesn't meet the FTC's definition of "substantive." Or it's possible the two sides have not communicated at all in terms of a possible settlement. After all, Microsoft president Brad Smith made it clear that Microsoft believes in its position and would rigorously pursue the case in court.