Microsoft closes $75B Activision deal despite lingering FTC challenge

Xbox parent Microsoft closed its $75 billion acquisition of the video game giant Activision Blizzard on Friday – despite the Federal Trade Commission’s ongoing fight to prevent the landmark deal.

Microsoft officially bought the “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” maker – the biggest acquisition in the history of the video game industry – after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it would drop its opposition to the deal earlier in the day.

To satisfy British regulators, Microsoft agreed to sell streaming rights to rival Ubisoft.

Despite the UK’s approval, the FTC is actively trying to halt the deal. The agency, led by antitrust crusader Lina Khan, is still challenging the merger in an administrative case to be brought before its own in-house judge.