Microsoft continues its cloud gaming push, even in the face of recent opposition from U.K. regulators
Despite Microsoft’s ongoing battle with U.K. regulators regarding its attempted takeover of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, the tech company has signed a 10-year agreement with Nware to make Xbox games available to stream on the Spain-based cloud gaming provider’s platform.
When the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that is blocking Microsoft’s aqusition of Activision, it stated: “Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities.”
The agency also found Microsoft’s proposed solution to address competition concerns to have “significant shortcomings,” such as not sufficiently covering different cloud gaming service business models and not sufficiently being open to providers who might wish to offer versions of games on PC operating systems other than Windows.
However, the latest deal suggests that Microsoft has no intentions of slowing down its cloud gaming ambitions, even in the face of opposition. In fact, the company’s President and Vice Chair Brad Smith tweeted that the deal with Nware also includes Activision Blizzard titles — such as Call of Duty and Overwatch — “after the acquisition closes.” He said also that the partnership with Nware, as well as its other commitments “will make more popular games available on more cloud game streaming services than they are today.”
At the end of the month, European Union anti-trust officials will issue their decision on the Microsoft-Activision deal, followed by the US Federal Trade Commission, which is currently also conducting an in-depth investigation of the acquisition.
Cloud gaming refers to running a game on a nearby server and streaming it to the player. It frees the player from the confines of relying on a computer or console with powerful, expensive graphics and hardware and is also considered a powerful precursor to the metaverse.
