A US judge on Tuesday denied Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for an injunction on Microsoft's $69-billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard, paving way for the largest deal for Microsoft and the biggest in the history of videogame business.

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The acquisition has attracted scrutiny from several antitrust enforcers, including Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, over concerns it would hinder competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.

The FTC had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Microsoft from closing its deal ahead of a separate legal challenge that is due to commence next month.

Here is a snapshot of key events in the Microsoft-Activision saga:

Date Development

Jan 18, 2022 - Microsoft says it is buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion

Feb 1, 2022- Bloomberg News reports that FTC would handle the review of the deal

March 21, 2022 - FTC has sought additional data from Activision and Microsoft related to the antitrust review of their deal, the game developer says

April 28, 2022 - Activision Blizzard shareholders approve Microsoft's proposal to buy the "Call of Duty" maker

July 6, 2022- Britain's antitrust watchdog starts an investigation into the deal

Sept 1, 2022 - Britain's antitrust regulator says the deal could harm competition in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming, and it needs to be investigated in depth

Sept 7, 2022 - Sony Group Corp says the offer by Microsoft to keep the "Call of Duty" series on PlayStation for a limited time is "inadequate"

Sept 15, 2022- Britain's antitrust watchdog says it would launch an in-depth probe into the deal

Sept 30, 2022 - EU antitrust regulators set Nov. 8 deadline to decide on the deal

Oct 12, 2022- Microsoft says Britain's competition regulator had relied on objections from Sony in referring the deal to an in-depth inquiry

Dec 8, 2022- The Biden administration moves to block Microsoft-Activision deal

Dec 22, 2022- Microsoft says the deal would benefit gamers and gaming companies

Feb 8, 2023 - Britain takes aim at the deal, saying it could harm gamers by weakening the rivalry between Xbox and Sony's PlayStation

Feb 21, 2023 - Microsoft strikes 10-year deal to bring "Call of Duty" and other Activision games to Nvidia Corp's gaming platform

March 1, 2023- EU regulators extend the deadline for the deal to April 25

March 8, 2023- Microsoft tells UK it will license "Call of Duty" to Sony for 10 years

March 28, 2023- Japan's antitrust watchdog says the deal will not harm competition

April 26, 2023- UK blocks Microsoft-Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns

May 15, 2023- Microsoft wins EU antitrust approval for the deal

May 24, 2023 - Microsoft appeals against UK block on the deal

June 12, 2023 - US FTC asks court to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision

June 13, 2023 - A U.S. judge grants FTC's request to temporarily block the acquisition and set a hearing next week

July 11, 2023 - A U.S. judge turns down FTC's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the deal.