Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been unconditionally approved by South Africa, but there are still obstacles in Britain and the United States.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen Huanan Wu Yanzu, OC_Formula for clue delivery! CTOnews.com July 3 Microsoft's planned acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard has received unconditional approval from South Africa. The South African Competition Tribunal announced its decision on Monday and said it would publish its reasons in due course.

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has now been approved by nearly 40 global regulators, after the European Commission and Chinese competition regulators cleared the deal, which will give Microsoft the rights to well-known game series such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

However, the UK and US remain the biggest obstacles Microsoft faces. In April, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would block the $69 billion deal because of concerns about its impact on the emerging cloud gaming market. Microsoft subsequently appealed the CMA's decision, saying it was "not good for Britain."

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also sued Microsoft on antitrust grounds in an attempt to block the acquisition. Microsoft and the FTC faced off in court last week, with the FTC asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Microsoft from completing the acquisition until another legal challenge by its internal administrative judge in August. Microsoft wants to move forward with the deal before the current merger agreement expires on July 18, or Activision could walk away and charge a $3 billion termination fee.