After a journey that lasted one year, eight months, and 26 days, Microsoft has successfully completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This means that Microsoft now owns significant video game franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo. The journey to this merger was not a smooth one. The $68.7 billion deal encountered multiple obstacles and was nearly called off several times. Regulatory bodies including the United States' Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the European Union, and the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), all posed significant hindrances for the merger. Despite these challenges, the deal was successfully concluded on October 13, 2023. The approval process first hit a road bump on April 1, 2022, when a letter was sent from four U.S. senators to the FTC raising concerns about the impact of the acquisition on tech workers. They worried that the acquisition could exacerbate the already poor track record of Activision Blizzard in handling sexual harassment allegations and other labor issues. On April 28, 2022, 98% of Activision Blizzard shareholders voted for the acquisition at $95 a share, despite concerns over lowering share prices. The UK's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the acquisition in July 2022, expressing concerns over the potential negative impact on competition, prices, product quality, and consumer choices. Much debate came from the issue of game exclusivity, particularly with the Call of Duty franchise, which lead to Microsoft announcing on September 1, 2022, that new Call of Duty releases would be made available on the Game Pass on day one and would also be launched on the PlayStation. Further concerns arose from the OCT, mentioning the potential harm to competition in the gaming industry if Microsoft were to monopolize all video game franchises. In February 2023, the European Union also issued a warning about the merger, and in the same month, the CMA published its report, expressing concerns about the potential harm to gamers and the impact on the cloud gaming market. In April 2023, the CMA tried to block the acquisition citing concerns over the future of the cloud gaming market, but Microsoft appealed the decision. After a long haul, the CMA finally cleared the merger in October 2023, making Microsoft's historical acquisition officially complete. Throughout the process, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard maintained their optimism about the merger, believing it would enhance competition in the gaming industry and create more opportunities for developers and players. The combination of these two companies means that some of the most popular gaming franchises will now be under Microsoft's umbrella, adding to its already sizeable portfolio. This acquisition is seen as a significant development in the gaming industry's history.