Today in headlines I hadn’t expected to see, Microsoft has revealed that its revised proposal to the CMA for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard involves an agreement for all Activision Blizzard titles, including anything in its current slate and all titles released over the next 15 years, to be available as part of Ubisoft’s cloud gaming lineup on Ubisoft+.
Both Microsoft and Ubisoft shared the news today, with Ubi’s own announcement saying:
“Ubisoft today announced the signing of an agreement which will give Ubisoft cloud streaming rights to games like Call of Duty and more, coming into effect upon the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The agreement includes the complete slate of current Activision Blizzard games, as well as all their new titles launching in the 15 years after the closing of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The games will land on Ubisoft+, while also allowing Ubisoft to license them to cloud gaming companies, service providers, and console makers.”
That even includes the potential for legacy Activision Blizzard games to come to Ubisoft’s PlayStation-based service, Ubisoft+ Classics.
“With a single subscription to Ubisoft+ Multi Access, players will soon be able to play their favorite Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard games across multiple platforms including PC, Xbox consoles and Amazon Luna, and on the PlayStation platform through Ubisoft+ Classics,” Ubisoft confirmed. “The agreement will offer players even greater access to a large library of beloved and classic titles as well as the newest releases, all through cloud streaming.”
Today we submitted a restructured proposal to the CMA for approval of our Activision Blizzard acquisition under UK law. This new proposal also honors our prior commercial and regulatory commitments. Read more here: https://t.co/t0UBcouTP9
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) August 22, 2023
Microsoft confirmed that the deal it has struck with Ubisoft, which it hopes will sway the CMA’s revised decision over the ABK acquisition in its favour, will see Ubisoft pay for the rights to distribute the games through its own platform and channels, saying:
“The agreement provides Ubisoft with a unique opportunity to commercialize the distribution of games via cloud streaming. The agreement will enable Ubisoft to innovate and encourage different business models in the licensing and pricing of these games on cloud streaming services worldwide. Ubisoft will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard’s games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage. It will also give Ubisoft the opportunity to offer Activision Blizzard’s games to cloud gaming services running non-Windows operating systems.”
