Microsoft’s giant Activision Blizzard deal is complete, and it means Ubisoft has now obtained cloud streaming rights for Call of 2️⃣ Duty, all other current Activision Blizzard games, and any coming over the next 15 years. It was a key concession 2️⃣ from Microsoft that helped get the deal over the line with UK regulators. But what does it all mean?
Ubisoft will 2️⃣ now control where Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games show up on cloud gaming services, with the exception 2️⃣ of EU countries and the various cloud gaming deals Microsoft signed previously. If you live in a country that’s part 2️⃣ of the European Economic Area (EEA) — which includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway — then you’ll 2️⃣ get a free license to stream via “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” all current and future Activision 2️⃣ Blizzard PC and console games that you have purchased.
If you’re outside the EEA, then it’s up to Ubisoft which services 2️⃣ get cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games, including licensing these back to Microsoft to include in Xbox Cloud Gaming. 2️⃣ In theory, Ubisoft could deny Microsoft a license for future Activision Blizzard games, but in reality, that’s extremely unlikely to 2️⃣ happen. Microsoft will need to pay a wholesale arrangement fee to license Activision Blizzard games for its cloud services, though.
It’s 2️⃣ also legally possible for Ubisoft to offer Activision Blizzard games exclusively on certain cloud providers but, again, very unlikely. I 2️⃣ say unlikely because unlike secret deals in the games industry for exclusivity or to keep games off Xbox Game Pass, 2️⃣ everyone knows Ubisoft is controlling the rights here, and the company would face a backlash if it attempted to deny 2️⃣ or block games from certain cloud services. Cloud providers will also still be offered a free license to stream these 2️⃣ games in EU markets, thanks to the European Commission remedy.
Why Ubisoft?
A number of companies wanted the cloud gaming rights for 2️⃣ Activision Blizzard games and had to essentially pitch the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK. The interview-like process meant 2️⃣ the CMA picked out the companies that would work best with its concerns over cloud gaming, and then it was 2️⃣ up to Microsoft to ultimately decide on which company to restructure its deal with.
“We’ve been active in the streaming space 2️⃣ for a long time and that’s one of the reasons Microsoft came to us; we were the first studio that 2️⃣ Google worked with for Stadia; the first company that Amazon worked with for Luna; and we’ve been partners with NVIDIA 2️⃣ GeForce Now for years,” explains Chris Early, Ubisoft’s SVP of strategic partnerships and business development. “To Microsoft, it made sense 2️⃣ that if somebody was going to be familiar with the space and know what the value would be for streaming, 2️⃣ it would be us. And we saw the value as well.”
Ubisoft Plus
The deal with Ubisoft means that Activision Blizzard games 2️⃣ will now be available on Ubisoft Plus, the company’s game subscription service. Work begins on bringing these games to Ubisoft’s 2️⃣ subscription today, but it’s not clear when they’ll all be available.
While the deal lasts for 15 years, the licenses are 2️⃣ perpetual, so Ubisoft will still have the rights and still be able to provide games to people and companies worldwide 2️⃣ (outside of the EEA) even after those 15 years pass by.
“Our expectation is that they will be on Ubisoft Plus, 2️⃣ and then we have the rights to be able to license them individually to companies as well,” says Early. “Perhaps 2️⃣ there’s a company somewhere in the world that wants to license those rights and add to the streaming service they 2️⃣ have or start up a new streaming service, and I think that’s going be part of the fun of the 2️⃣ next 15 years or more of how streaming evolves.”
Microsoft’s cloud gaming deals
Activision Blizzard games will also be available on a 2️⃣ variety of cloud gaming services thanks to deals Microsoft struck to appease EU regulators. Those deals include:
Nvidia: operator of GeForce 2️⃣ Now cloud gaming service
Boosteroid: largest independent cloud gaming provider based in Ukraine
Nware: Spain-based cloud gaming provider
Ubitus: Taiwan-based cloud gaming provider
EE: 2️⃣ British mobile network provider
