Microsoft's deal to buy Call of Duty maker strengthened by US judge

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The odds Microsoft to take over major games publisher Activision Blizzard got a big boost after a US judge rejected a request from US regulators to block the deal.

Microsoft said that after the US victory, it would focus on fixing the problems in the UK.

The tech giant's merger with the owner of Call of Duty would be the biggest such deal in the history of the gaming industry. /p>

Regulators in the United States had argued that such a deal would hurt gamers and reduce competition by giving Xbox maker Microsoft the power to deny rivals access to Activision games.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had requested an emergency hold on the deal, which is due to close later this month, while challenging the plans.

But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said she didn't think the regulator would win in her case.

"The FTC has not shown that it will succeed in asserting that the merged company will likely remove Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that it...