The European Union's antitrust watchdog has authorized Microsoft's planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, handing the two firms a victory after the deal was blocked in the UK.

The European Commission, the EU's competition watchdog, said it approved the transaction based on Microsoft's promises to make Activision games, including the blockbuster 'Call of Duty' franchise, available to competing cloud-streaming providers.

The judgment comes only weeks after the UK’s competition watchdog rejected the merger, claiming it would stifle competition in the country's gaming market. Microsoft has stated that it will appeal the ruling.

The approval in Brussels will have no direct legal impact on that procedure, and antitrust lawyers think Microsoft will have a difficult time overturning the British judgment.

However, the EU's decision means that Microsoft has cleared at least one of the three major regulatory hurdles in pursuing the purchase. The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft to stop the acquisition, and a hearing in its administrative court has been scheduled for August.

According to Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith, the pledges would apply globally and allow millions of people to play Activision games on any device.

The clearance by the EU was described by Activision as a firm but pragmatic approach to gaming.

The disparity in EU and UK rulings may create new uncertainty about the approach the world's largest regulators are taking to big deal making.

Before the UK left the EU, its antitrust officials largely sat on the sidelines of significant transactions like this one. However, since its separation from Brussels, London has quickly emerged into one of the most prominent worldwide regulators in terms of mergers and acquisitions.

According to some antitrust attorneys and analysts, the EU clearance might make it easier for Microsoft to cast the U.K. verdict as an exception, including during a UK appeal process. Since the process is narrowly focused on procedure, the agreement has bleak chances of surviving such an appeal.

The EU approval could potentially affect Microsoft's arguments before the FTC's administrative law judge, as well as other regulators such as Australia and New Zealand, who have yet to decide whether to approve the transaction.