Microsoft Will Give Activision-Blizzard Cloud Streaming Rights To Ubisoft

Ubisoft will have the rights to distribute Activision-Blizzard games to different cloud services.

Story Highlights

  • Activision Blizzard game cloud streaming will come to Ubisoft+.
  • Ubisoft will have exclusive rights to distribute its games on various cloud services and will have this exclusivity for 15 years.
  • The move is a bid from Microsoft to get its acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved in multiple markets. 

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 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.

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.

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Matt Toledo is a News Reporter on eXputer who also has tremendous love for Halo and Mass Effect games. He’s a student in the US with a background in business and finance, which makes him the perfect guy to report any financial news regarding the technology and gaming industries. He’s got several years of experience in writing, and his work is also featured on Substack. He has been cited by Yahoo, Dexerto, TheGamer, Wccftech, and more. Experience: 3+ years || Education: Business and Finance Major || Wrote for Substack || Written 150+ News Stories || Mainly Reports News 

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