Tech giant Microsoft is reportedly fielding the extreme option pulling Activision Blizzard from the UK.

That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that the Big M is weighing this up as an extreme option that would allow it to go ahead with its acquisition of the Call of Duty giant. This news comes ahead of Microsoft president Brad Smith (pictured) appearing in London to discuss AI regulation.

He is also set to speak to UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt to express his frustration at the country's Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) decision to block the deal.

".. we remain committed to finding creative and constructive ways to address remaining regulatory concerns," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Hunt has previously teased support for the deal, saying that the CMA must "understand their wider responsibilities" to the UK economy. The chancellor is also "unhappy" with the criticism that Smith has levelled at the CMA and his comparisons between the UK's competition body to the European Commission, which has approved the deal.

The UK and the US are the two big jurisdictions that have taken action to block the $68.7 billion deal.