The UK competition watchdog has cleared Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to buy ‘Call Of Duty’ developer Activision Blizzard, clearing the last major regulatory hurdle for one of the biggest tech acquisitions in gaming history. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Microsoft – the maker of the Xbox gaming console – could go ahead with the takeover after agreeing to buy Activision without cloud gaming rights, meaning the games would still be available to gamers on other platforms such as Apple’s iOS devices and Google’s PlayStation platform. The agreement also promised to share royalties with the owners of streaming services like Twitch and Steam, which have already benefited from the popularity of games such as ‘Overwatch.’

Microsoft argued that the purchase, which will see it become the world’s biggest video game company, will benefit consumers and the industry. But critics, including top rival Sony, worried that it would stifle competition in the industry by giving Microsoft a dominant position in the market for online game streaming services, which allow users to play on PCs, smartphones, or TVs without needing to own and store the games.

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But the CMA said that Microsoft and Activision had offered remedies that “substantially address” the watchdog’s concerns, paving the way for the deal to proceed. The CMA had previously pushed back a decision on whether to reverse an earlier decision to block the takeover to see if the two parties could compromise.

Analysts said the final approval from the CMA was a significant milestone for the deal, giving Microsoft a new foothold in the lucrative gaming market. The deal will reshape the gaming landscape by bringing together Microsoft, which owns the Xbox game platform and Xbox Game Studios (home to the Bethesda Softworks and 343 Industries studios, among others), with Activision, which has made the Call Of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush franchises.

Despite the hurdles, this deal will likely still be controversial for some, says the BBC’s Alex Haffner, adding that it’s a sign that “big companies are willing to put up with significant regulatory challenges to secure deals they think are in their best interests.” The news comes just hours after Microsoft secured the final approval of European regulators to complete the takeover. The US Federal Trade Commission is suing to block the deal, but a judge has blocked that attempt and will let it proceed.

However, the deal will likely be completed once several other regulatory bodies, including Brazil and China, clear it. And that could take a while, given how slow those processes are. The next step for the companies will be to get the green light from a court in California, which is expected at some point this summer. The deal marks the culmination of a near-two-year fight to secure the biggest deal in gaming history. But it will also mean that the companies have a stronger position to dictate the industry’s future.