Microsoft is set to grant Ubisoft streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games in an effort to win UK approval, saying the deal is “a materially different transaction under UK law. ”
It is significantly restructuring its proposed merger with Activision Blizzard, which includes selling the cloud gaming to Activision Blizzard games to rival Ubisoft, it said in a blog post yesterday. That will raise concerns with British regulators, who blocked the deal in part because of Microsoft’s potential dominance in cloud gaming – but nothing is set to be approved before October 18.
Because of the Ubisoft deal, Microsoft believes that the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard represents a materially different transactionunder UK law than the transaction Microsoft submitted for review by the CMA in 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote.
If the merger goes through, Microsoft will transfer “cloud streaming rights for all existing and new Activision Blizzard games for PC and consoles released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft Entertainment SA, a leading global game publisher. The rights will be perpetual,” Smith added. That means Microsoft won’t be able to make Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox Cloud Gaming, nor will it have any say in how they are released on competing services. It will also allow Ubisoft to offer cloud gaming services for Activision Blizzard games on Apple and other non-Windows systems.
See also: Activision Blizzard franchises that will belong to Microsoft
As for the terms of the deal, “Ubisoft will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games through a one-time payment and a wholesale, purchase-based pricing mechanism, including an option to support usage-based pricing,” Smith said. In its own blog post, Ubisoft indicated that Activision Blizzard games would be available across a range of services if the deal goes through. “With a single Ubisoft+ Multi Access subscription, gamers will soon be able to play their favorite Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard games across multiple platforms, including PC, Xbox consoles and Amazon Luna, as well as the PlayStation via Ubisoft+ Classics,” Ubisoft’s Daniel O’Connor wrote.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) rejected the proposed merger earlier this year, citing concerns about a cloud gaming monopoly as the main problem. However, after the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) failed to block the merger, the CMA agreed to extend the negotiations until August 29. According to the discussions so far, both sides – Microsoft and the CMA – believe that Microsoft’s announcement of a restructured transaction can address the concerns raised by the CMA, the CMA said in July.
UK regulators will now review the restructured deal and make a decision by October 18, according to an article published today. “We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including third-party comments,” said CMS chief executive Sarah Cardell. “Our aim 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.”
Source: engadget.com
