If the deal closes, it’ll turn Xbox maker Microsoft into one of the top three video game publishers.
Microsoft is still trying to get approval of its $69 billion acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard by UK and US regulators. To help get the greenlight, the Xbox maker made a unique deal with another major game publisher, Ubisoft.
Cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games will go to Ubisoft for the publisher’s subscription service, according to a release from Microsoft. This means for the next 15 years, current and new Activision games will be available for cloud streaming via Ubisoft services. This would include the publisher’s Ubisoft Plus service, which is available on PC, Xbox, Playstation and Amazon Luna.
Microsoft will still have Activision Blizzard games on its Xbox Cloud Gaming, but those titles will no longer be exclusive to the company’s platforms for streaming.
Microsoft first revealed plans to acquire Activision in January 2022. Closing the deal would turn Xbox maker Microsoft into one of the top three video game publishers, right behind rival Sony. Activision Blizzard is one of the largest third-party publishers, with some major franchises that would give a much-needed boost to Microsoft’s games catalog, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Overwatch.
Oct. 18 is the date Microsoft set to finalize its deal with Activision. The two companies moved the deadline to October from the original date of July 18, allowing more time to get approval from regulators. If the deal isn’t completed, there’s a termination, or “breakup,” fee that’s to be paid by Microsoft to Activision.
