Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal approved by European Union

The European Commission has approved Microsoft's attempted purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Earlier today on May 15, the European Union's European Commission officially ruled to approve the merger. The ruling by the Commission comes after their own internal investigation into the ramifications of Microsoft's attempted purchase of Activision Blizzard for European customers.

In short though, the ruling makes it clear that the merger has passed thanks to Microsoft's commitment to cloud gaming. As Microsoft has offered commitments to deal with competition concerns over cloud gaming from the deal, the European Union has given the deal the green light.

The EU's commission further found that Microsoft would ultimately have no incentive to restrict Call of Duty and other Activision-published games. The European Commission doesn't think Microsoft can profit from keeping Call of Duty off of PlayStation devices, in other words.

This is a decidedly positive note for Microsoft's attempted acquisition after it faced a huge setback earlier this year. Last month in April UK ultimately ruled against the acquisition, saying that it would hurt competition in the UK, and offer UK audiences less competition to choose from.

As things stand, Microsoft's purchase has seen favorable rulings from the likes of South Africa, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. It's biggest challenge could yet come though, as the US hasn't ruled on the purchase, and is due to do so later this year.

Check out our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide for a full look ahead at all the exclusives and other games Microsoft has lined up for the rest of the year.