The last bastion has fallen: the UK regulator CMA has given its approval to the merger of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. Nothing can prevent the deal anymore!

The months-long standoff between Microsoft and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority has finally come to an end.

The CMA has given its approval to the deal between gaming industry giants Activision Blizzard and Microsoft.

Here's What We Know

The CMA was the last obstacle to the merger of the two corporations and it can already be stated that nothing will prevent the biggest deal of the gaming industry to take place and most likely it will happen today.

The British organisation has allayed fears over Microsoft's potential monopoly in the cloud market after the Americans agreed to transfer the rights to use cloud versions of Activision Blizzard games, particularly Call of Duty, into the hands of French publisher Ubisoft.

Microsoft president Brad Smith and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick thanked the CMA for the favourable verdict and promised that the merger would benefit both the industry and players.

We're grateful for the CMA's thorough review and decision today. We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide.

- Brad Smith (@BradSmi) October 13, 2023

As a reminder, the deal was originally valued at $78 billion, but it's clear that it will cost Microsoft much more than that.

Source: UK government website