Microsoft's £56 billion Activision The UK watchdog relaxes its objections as the Blizzard merger approaches.

Before the agreement, the Competition and Markets Authority worried that titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft might become Xbox exclusives.

Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has dispelled worries raised initially by Britain's competition watchdog about potential harm to the country's console gaming business.

The £56.7 billion merger, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last month, might lead to higher pricing, fewer options, or less innovation for UK gamers.

But it claimed that its most recent research showed that the "purchase will not result in a meaningful decrease of competition regarding console gaming in the UK."

The CMA said its preliminary view had altered after a dialogue with relevant parties.

The possibility that Microsoft might decide to make popular Activision titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft exclusive to its own Xbox systems initially caused alarm.

However, the regulator stated on Friday that it now thinks "this strategy would be significantly loss-making," in contrast to the advantage of also offering the games on competing platforms like the PlayStation 5.

Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel monitoring the CMA investigation, stated that "provisional findings are a crucial element of the merger process and are designed to give the organizations involved, and any willing third parties, the chance to answer with new evidence before we make a decision."