New Zealand has become the latest part of the world to give the nod to Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

In a post on its website, the country's competition regulator – the Commerce Commission – said it had approved the deal, saying that it had weighed up how important Activision Blizzard's slate of games were to local consumers, as well as whether Microsoft would stop rivals from playing those titles.

“While Activision games, in particular Call of Duty, are popular with New Zealand gamers, our enquiries did not find that they are likely to be ‘must have’ in order to compete with Microsoft in New Zealand,” the Commission's Chair, Dr John Small, said.

In a post on Twitter, Microsoft president Brad Smith added: "With today’s approval from New Zealand, we’re cleared to move forward with our acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 41 countries. We will continue to work to resolve outstanding concerns and bring this deal to a close."