Microsoft just announced another ten-year agreement with Japanese cloud gaming company, Ubitus. The deal is intended to stream Xbox PC Games, as well as Activision Blizzard titles after the proposed acquisition is finally completed, to allay regulatory concerns around the acquisition. This comes hot off the heels of a similar announcement when Microsoft confirmed that it would offer all of its titles up for streaming to Boosteroid. The latest service to get access to Xbox titles,Ubitus, powers many of the cloud games available on Nintendo Switch, including popular titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Hitman 3, Control, and Resident Evil Village.
Microsoft Announces Yet Another 10-year Deal With Ubitus
This latest announcement is the second in a week for the cloud gaming platform, as Microsoft campaigns to convince global regulators to approve the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Regulators, such as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the US’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have expressed concerns that the acquisition could result in a monopoly in cloud gaming. The reason why is simple, Microsoft is trying to reassure regulators by claiming that it won’t make Activision Blizzard games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service, should the deal be approved.
Microsoft has repeated its claim that this deal and other partnerships will give more choice to more players, with its commitment to bringing the blockbuster shooter series Call of Duty to Nintendo Switch’s nearly 125 million installed base, and GeForce Now’s 25 million users. Sony has been offered a 10-year deal by Microsoft, a legally enforceable contract to make each new Call of Duty game available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox, with full content and feature parity. However, Sony has argued that such an agreement would be insufficient to address regulators’ concerns, as there are many ways Microsoft could withhold or degrade access, which would be extremely difficult to monitor and police.