Microsoft selling Activision Blizzard cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft Microsoft has announced that it plans to sell the cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games over the next 15 years to Ubisoft.Tom West Published 22 Aug 2023 FollowtopicsUbisoft+Tom West In its continued effort to appease the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to get the $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal across the line, Microsoft will sell the cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The rights will give Ubisoft control over the distribution of Activision Blizzard's console and PC games for the next 15 years, removing Microsoft's ability to make the games exclusive to Xbox Cloud Gaming. The CMA is expected to make a decision by October 18.Ubisoft to add new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft+Microsoft's restructured deal will see Ubisoft obtain the cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard's games as soon as the deal is finalized and includes all current and new console and PC games released over the next 15 years with the rights remaining in perpetuity. The result will see Microsoft give up its right to set licensing terms when adding Activision Blizzard's titles to rival cloud gaming platforms, as well as removing its ability to make the games exclusive to its own Xbox Cloud Gaming platform."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," Microsoft president Brad Smith says. "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."Smith also says that its deal with Ubisoft has been "structured so that Microsoft will still acquire the rights needed to honor fully its legal obligations under its commitments to the European Commission, as well as its existing contractual obligations to other cloud game streaming providers, including Nvidia, Boosteroid, Ubitus, and Nware."The CMA says that a new investigation will now be carried out for the restructured deal, with a statutory deadline of October 18. "This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments," the CMA's chief executive Sarah Cardell said. "Our goal has not changed — any future decision on this new deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition driving innovation and choice."Ubisoft has announced that following the deal's completion, it will be expanding the library of games offered through Ubisoft+ with the addition of Activision Blizzard's games. Players with a Ubisoft+ Multi Access subscription on Xbox, PC, and Amazon Luna, or a Ubisoft+ Classics subscription on PlayStation will be able to play the games alongside its own titles, such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and more.“We’re dedicated to delivering amazing experiences to our players wherever they choose to play,” Ubisoft's senior VP of strategic partnerships and business development Chris Early said. “Over the past 15 years we’ve built and honed our online services and distribution ecosystem into one of the most complete in the industry. Today’s deal will give players even more opportunities to access and enjoy some of the biggest brands in gaming.” Ubisoft+ launched on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One earlier this year, offering more than 100 PC, console, and cloud games, as well as their premium editions, for a monthly subscription of $17.99 / $14.99.Ubisoft+Industry News Written by Tom WestTom has been playing video games since he was old enough to hold a controller, experimenting with a number of systems until he eventually fell in love with Xbox. With a passion for the platform, he decided to make a career out of it, and now happily spends his days writing about that which he loves. If he’s not hunting for Xbox achievements, you’ll likely find him somewhere in The Elder Scrolls Online or fighting for survival in Battlefield.