Microsoft It seemed like he was going to have a hard time getting one Activision-Blizzard, but the Redmond giant was able to read the situation better than the regulators themselves to turn the tables. One of the main stumbling blocks is the CMA, the UK’s antitrust authority, which is taking steps to give final approval to the operation.

The latest information we have learned strengthens the position that the CMA will eventually authorize the operation. The information comes from the Financial Times, a prestigious economic daily, which highlighted the following in an article available to paying users:

“It’s also a big week for Big Tech, with quarterly results from Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft. He will also have his eyes on the United Kingdom, where on Wednesday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) must make a final decision on whether to block the $69 billion acquisition of game developer Activision-Blizzard, although this is likely to lead, as expected, to support the CMA operation.“.

In short, it could be that CMA approval of Microsoft’s purchase of Activision-Blizzard is imminent. Although the Redmond giant has received the approval of many countries, including one as important as Japan, at the moment the American FTC, the British CMA and the European Union regulatory authorities are on top. In fact, it should not be forgotten that CMA was the spearhead that prevented NVIDIA from acquiring ARM.

With the European Union seemingly inclined to approve the purchase process, the ball is now apparently in the court of the FTC, which has gone so far as to file a lawsuit against the operation. However, the US authority’s investigation has put Sony on the ropes, particularly over its alleged exclusivity deals and the possibility of dirty maneuvering with the torpedoed Xbox.

From there we enter the usual: Until there is an official announcement, it is better to take the information with a grain of salt. However, the Financial Times is a newspaper that takes itself very seriously in its field, so it can be said that CMA approval, barring last-minute surprises or delays, is very close (it may not necessarily come tomorrow). If this expectation is met, Microsoft could complete the operation within the specified deadlines.

Microsoft has been very good at maneuvering to get antitrust regulators to favor its Activision-Blizzard purchase, highlighting here the many deals it has reached with NVIDIA and Nintendo, among others. In fact, this operation was a great opportunity for the big N of video games to have Call of Duty regularly appear on their console, although considering the dates we are on, the deal may start to materialize after the launch of the Switch. 2 (or whatever the future console is called, which is not expected to be revolutionary on a conceptual level).