Microsoft is poised to complete its massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard next week

Microsoft plans to close its $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard next week.

A source familiar with Microsoft’s plans told The Verge the company hopes to close the deal on Friday, October 13.

The date depends on the approval of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which blocked completion of the deal earlier this year. To appease the CMA, Microsoft transferred its cloud streaming rights for “all current and future” Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft for a term of 15 years.

The CMA’s review process ended yesterday and a decision is expected next week ahead of the 90-day extension agreement between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft to finalize the deal. This agreement expires on October 18th.

Earlier this week, the FTC renewed its fight to block the deal by filing an administrative complaint. The agency claims the deal would allow Microsoft to squeeze out competition from its Xbox gaming consoles as well as its subscription and cloud gaming businesses. This came after a federal judge rejected the FTC’s preliminary injunction against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard before the July 18 deadline.

Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022.