Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has revealed that the company has penned another 10-year cloud gaming commitment, this time with a company called EE. This is of course pending the long-delayed approval of the ABK acquisition, though financial insiders increasingly feel it’s just a matter of time and that, ultimately, Microsoft will successfully acquire Activision Blizzard.This is the latest in a number of deals Microsoft has made with third-party companies to help boost its chances of successfully acquiring Activision Blizzard. First, the software giant attempted to come to an agreement with Sony, which would have secured Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for 10 years. That offer was turned down, but that didn’t stop Microsoft from making a similar Call of Duty deal with Nintendo, as well as an unexpected 10-year agreement to bring Xbox PC games to Nvidia GeForce Now.Microsoft has now made another 10-year commitment to bring Activision Blizzard PC games to EE’s customers via cloud gaming. For those unaware, EE claims to run the largest and fastest mobile network in the UK, providing 4G/5G technology and broadband services for home and business. The company also has numerous retail stores that sell phones, laptops, smart watches, and the like.
Similar to the EE agreement, Microsoft has also made deals with Boosteroid, a cloud gaming platform based in Ukraine, and the Japanese company Ubitus. So far, other than announcing the deals, none of the companies involved have revealed any details about them. In the case of EE, it can be assumed that mobile service customers may gain access to Xbox cloud gaming through an app, either included in the price or for an extra monthly fee.
Microsoft revealed its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion over a year ago now, in January 2022. However, within a few months, US senators had voiced concerns about the acquisition and international governing bodies began investigating whether the pending deal violated antitrust laws or could otherwise harm consumers. More recently, a growing number of countries are seemingly beginning to bend in favor of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard, including the UK’s CMA, which had up to now appeared more staunchly opposed.
The Xbox company has continued to forge deals with various entities as if the acquisition were a done deal, and Microsoft even restricted the use of emulators on its consoles in April. An email sent by an alleged Microsoft employee attributed this new stance directly to the company's agreement with Nintendo, which has historically been very emulator averse.