The announcement came after Microsoft cleared a final regulatory hurdle to the deal from Britain's competition watchdog. TheR$69-billion purchase of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard makes Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue, behind China's Tencent and Sony in Japan.

He has been covering the business & culture of video games for two decades. Microsoft has successfully persuaded regulators around the world to clear itsR$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard  the biggest deal of its kind the gaming industry has ever seen  and has completed the deal.