As Microsoft works to get its proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition approved, the company has announced that it will bring its Xbox PC games to Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming service. If Microsoft’s acquisition plans go through, this will also make Activision Blizzard PC titles, such as Call of Duty and Overwatch, available on Nvidia’s streaming platform.
The deal gives Microsoft streaming rights for the next 10 years, meaning users will still have to buy their own games. The games will be available regardless of whether they are purchased on the Microsoft Store, Steam or Epic Games Store.
Microsoft’s press release also doesn’t make any mention of its own rivals in the space, Xbox Cloud Gaming or the Xbox Game Pass but does say that it “resolves NVIDIA’s concerns with Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard”. Nvidia, in return, is “offering its full support for regulatory approval of the acquisition”.
The two companies are starting work on the integration right away and games could start arriving on GeForce Now in a matter of weeks, although The Verge reports that the full integration could take up to a year. The commitment means Microsoft is looking to make its games available on the platform “day-and-date or as close to day-and-date” as possible.
It seems like Microsoft is doing everything it can to sway the regulators’ decision in its favour. The partnership with Nvidia was announced just hours after Microsoft revealed it had signed a binding 10-year agreement with Nintendo to bring Xbox games to Nintendo gamers. This of course includes any Activision Blizzard games as well should the acquisition go through.
Sony has also been offered a similar deal, but there’s no word on whether the Playstation maker has accepted it yet, most likely because Sony is one of the few companies that are against Microsoft’s acquisition plans here. Microsoft and Nintendo have also entered into a binding deal that’ll bring Call of Duty to Switch consoles for the next 10 years on the same day as Xbox and PS title release.
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