Microsoft Announces Resale of Activision Blizzard Game Cloud Streaming Platform Publishing Rights to Ubisoft
Following a preliminary agreement with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to further discuss acquisition terms amenable to both parties, Microsoft announced its intention to transfer the cloud streaming platform distribution rights of Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. This move is designed to address primary concerns held by the UK’s regulatory body.
According to a statement by Microsoft President Brad Smith, if Microsoft successfully merges with Activision Blizzard, they commit to transferring the distribution rights of all current and future PC and console games from Activision Blizzard on cloud streaming platforms to Ubisoft for the next 15 years.
This ensures that Activision Blizzard’s games on cloud streaming platforms won’t be exclusively accessible through Microsoft’s services. Moreover, Microsoft won’t have any influence over Ubisoft’s distribution timetable for Activision Blizzard games on these platforms. Microsoft further accentuated the perpetual nature of this agreement, indicating that games released by Ubisoft on the cloud streaming platform won’t be delisted at Microsoft’s behest and could even be featured on non-Windows cloud platforms, such as those offered by Apple, as per Ubisoft’s business expansion prerogatives.
Under the terms of this agreement, Ubisoft can obtain distribution rights for Activision Blizzard games on cloud streaming platforms either through a one-time payment or a market pricing mechanism. Ubisoft clarified that should this transaction materialize, users can access a plethora of Ubisoft-released games and Activision Blizzard titles through the Ubisoft+ service. Furthermore, this service will be available on platforms like PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and even Amazon’s cloud streaming service, Amazon Luna. While it remains uncertain whether Microsoft’s move will placate the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have consented to extend their transaction deadline to October 18th of this year, providing ample time for further adjustments.
