Activision Blizzard's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft has drawn criticism, but the company hopes to close the deal as soon as next week, according to a report. The Microsoft deal was halted earlier this year by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.

The Verge reported that Microsoft hopes to close the deal on October 13 citing a source familiar with the company's plans. Microsoft restructured the agreement to hand over to Ubisoft the cloud gaming rights for existing and future Activision Blizzard games in an effort to allay concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Following this, the business last month received preliminary approval from the CMA.

Today is the last day for the CMA to collect comments on whether or not it should approve Microsoft's merger with the company that makes "Call of Duty." Next week is when a decision on this matter is anticipated. The deal deadline between Microsoft and Activision has been extended to October 18.

Why did the UK blocked the deal

Microsoft may have an advantage in cloud gaming if the deal is approved, according to the CMA, which earlier this year blocked the deal in the UK due to cloud security concerns. The EU approved the agreement with significant cloud concessions from Microsoft a few weeks after the decision.

Microsoft’s problems in the US

Microsoft’s regulatory battle then began in the US after the FTC tried to block the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The FTC then failed to secure a preliminary injunction to block the merger, for which testimonies of Xbox chief Phile Spencer, head of PlayStation and SIE, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The FTC is also planning to resume its own case against the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal.