Microsoft reportedly expecting Activision Blizzard deal to be completed next week

According to a source familiar with Microsoft's plans, the tech giant plans to finalize its acquisition of Activision Blizzard next week, after more than a year and a half of legal battles and attempts to obtain regulatory approval.

The details:

• As reported by The Verge, a source close to Microsoft has revealed that the company hopes to complete its acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher next week, with a target date of Friday, October 13. The deal's closing date is still subject to the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) final decision on whether to allow the deal to proceed in the UK, which appears likely after the CMA provisionally approved the acquisition last month.
• The CMA initially blocked the acquisition in April due to concerns about Microsoft's control of the cloud gaming market, claiming that adding Activision titles to the Xbox catalog would cause significant harm to competitors. The terms of the deal were then restructured by Microsoft and Activision to sell the cloud gaming rights to rival publisher Ubisoft, giving the French company worldwide exclusive rights to Activision IPs and non-exclusive rights in Europe.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is still attempting to halt the deal in the US after failing to obtain a preliminary injunction in July. The regulator is now appealing the outcome of the hearing, and a decision is expected in December. It also intends to reopen its own administrative case in the aftermath of the decision, presumably in an attempt to undo the deal, though this appears unlikely to succeed.

More gaming news:

• Five former Ubisoft employees have been detained and questioned in connection with sexual misconduct allegations leveled against them in 2020. Following the allegations, which included former editorial vice president Tommy François attempting to kiss a female employee without permission, the individuals left the company alongside other senior staff members.
• Hyenas, the recently canceled shooter from Creative Assembly, is said to have suffered from a lack of direction during development, with claims that it would have been Sega's biggest budget game since the original Shenmue on the Dreamcast.