The proposed deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard has been approved by the regulator in New Zealand

In a statement to Press Start, the Commerce Commission of New Zealand emphasized, "When making our decision, the Commission placed special focus on the significance of games from Activision (such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft) for players in New Zealand. We also examined the potential for Microsoft to create obstacles for competitors like Sony and NVIDIA in offering these games on gaming consoles and cloud platforms."

Microsoft included in their statement provided to VGC, "We express our appreciation for the thorough consideration of our acquisition of Activision Blizzard by the New Zealand Commerce Commission and welcome their decision to approve the deal without any conditions. We are confident that this acquisition will ultimately benefit the gaming industry and players, and we will continue our efforts towards completing the deal."

John Stoll, Chairman of the Commerce Commission of New Zealand, explained that, "Despite the popularity of Activision games, especially Call of Duty, among players in New Zealand, our research did not confirm that they are an essential component of competition with Microsoft in the New Zealand market."

In the previous month, Microsoft and Activision agreed to extend the expiration date of their merger agreement until October 18, 2023. This decision was taken after the initial self-imposed deadline for completing the $69 billion deal had passed.

In May, the deal received approval from the European Commission, and last month, Microsoft won a legal case in the United States against the antitrust regulator, the Federal Trade Commission. This paved the way for the deal's completion.