Redmond, Washington - Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty, announced Friday they were set to seal one of the biggest tech tie-ups after overcoming a final hurdle.

UK regulators have approved Microsoft's $69-billion takeover, having blocked the deal in April over competition concerns.

Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said the two companies had "all regulatory approvals necessary to close (the deal) and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world".

Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith thanked Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for its "thorough review" and approval.

"We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide," he added in a statement.

Microsoft launched its blockbuster takeover in January last year, an acquisition that would make it the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, but it faced stiff scrutiny from regulators, including from the Federal Trade Commission.

The CMA had blocked the deal over fears it would damage competition in the fast-growing cloud gaming sector, where games are bought virtually and players can use a variety of devices rather than just consoles.

But it dropped those objections last month ahead of its formal approval Friday.

Microsoft, which makes the Xbox console and already has a stable of games under its belt including Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout, is already the dominant player in the cloud-gaming world – its Game Pass service claims 25 million subscribers.

The original deal would have seen hugely popular Activision games including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft added to its cloud roster, which was too much for the UK regulator to stomach.

Under the new deal, Microsoft has agreed it would not take control of the cloud portion of Activision's business, which will be transferred to French studio Ubisoft for 15 years.

Aside from the concerns over cloud gaming, regulators had also worried that the initial deal would have allowed Microsoft to make Activision's games exclusive to its Xbox.

Microsoft and Sony, which had previously tried to block the Activision deal, agreed in July to keep releasing Call of Duty on the PlayStation.

The European Union cleared the deal in May while the FTC recently paused its attempt to block the buyout following a setback in court.