Microsoft Will Give Activision-Blizzard Cloud Streaming Rights To Ubisoft

Ubisoft will now have the rights to manage and distribute Activision Blizzard’s games on cloud services, the company announced in a press release. Ubisoft will have a 15-year license to manage where Activision-Blizzard games could be streamed. A number of Activision-Blizzard games will also be available on the company’s flagship subscription service, Ubisoft+. 

The Ubisoft+ lineup is expanding!

We're excited to announce a new agreement that will bring Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft+ via streaming upon the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard!

We’ll also be licensing the games to a range of cloud streaming… pic.twitter.com/sZTnEFJedC

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) August 22, 2023

The Ubisoft deal is the result of regulators in the UK and in the US scrutinizing the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft over concerns that the deal would result in anti-competitiveness in the cloud gaming market (something that just isn’t true). 

The CMA in the UK has temporarily halted the deal from moving forward until Microsoft addresses its cloud gaming concerns, and a final decision from the regulatory body could be made as late as August 29th. The restructuring of the deal, including the Ubisoft licensing is a result of Microsoft appeasing the CMA to push the deal through. 

The FTC also has its eyes on stopping the deal, but so far has been unsuccessful after a lawsuit against Microsoft to stop the deal from moving forward failed in court and was thrown out. 

Will Activision-Blizzard Games Still Be Available On Game Pass?

The deal states that Ubisoft will be able “to license streaming access of the Activision Blizzard catalog of games, including future releases, to cloud gaming companies. According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Activision Blizzard games will still be available on Xbox Game Pass.

no, Activision Blizzard games will still be part of Xbox Game Pass. Ubisoft will now control which games will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming outside of EU markets

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) August 22, 2023

Microsoft itself has made concessions related to cloud gaming, signing 10-year streaming deals with companies like Nvidia and its GeForce Now subscription to bring Activision-Blizzard games to other services, and expanding the availability of games like Call of Duty to other services. 

Even if Activision-Blizzard games would not release on Game Pass, it would be plausible that Xbox could circumnavigate the CMA and FTC by including Ubisoft+ into Xbox Game Pass, the same way that EA Play is available through a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.