China approves Microsoft’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard

China has approved Microsoft’s plan to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard, the firm announced on Friday. Although the Chinese approval was unconditional, it is required in mainland China that game-makers cooperate with a Chinese publisher on their releases.

The approval was clouded, however, with the disagreement between Blizzard Entertainment, an Activision subsidiary, and its Chinese partner, NetEase. This disagreement resulted in the discontinuation of some of Activision’s games availability in mainland China earlier this year.

The planned acquisition is estimated to be worth about $69 billion, making it the priciest tech deal in history. Activision is known to be behind the release of some of the most popular games, such as Candy Crush and Call of Duty.

The acquisition plan, announced in January 2022, has previously received the approval of the European Union, Japan, and Brazil. The deal remains challenged, however, in the United States and the United Kingdom.