In context: While regulatory agencies have expressed concerns about the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is still trying to win over powerful allies. A new agreement with Nvidia seems to push the GeForce company to offer its full support for the approval of the aforementioned acquisition.
Microsoft and Nvidia recently announced a 10-year partnership to bring Xbox PC games to the GeForce Now cloud gaming service, a move that should provide easy access to game on any device. More importantly, Microsoft has also promised to include Activision Blizzard games once the controversial acquisition is over.
The new agreement will allow gamers to stream Xbox PC titles from GeForce Now servers to PCs, macOS, Chromebooks, smartphones and other devices supported by the service. Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games will also join the fray once the acquisition is complete.
According to Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of GeForce at Nvidia, the agreement combines the rich catalog of Xbox first-party games with GeForce Now’s “high-performance streaming capabilities.” The combined strength of the two products should “push cloud gaming into a mainstream offering,” Fisher said, even as game companies try (and fail) to achieve the same. purpose for decades now.
We signed a 10-year agreement with Nvidia that will allow GeForce NOW gamers to stream Xbox PC games as well as Activision Blizzard PC titles, including COD, following the acquisition. We are committed to bringing more games to more people – however they choose to play.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 21, 2023
as highlighted by Xbox head Phil Spencer, Microsoft is committed to bringing “more games to more people” however they choose to play. The partnership also addresses Nvidia’s concerns about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the press release said, so Nvidia will offer “full support” for regulatory approval of the acquisition.
Microsoft and Nvidia are now working on integration between Xbox PC games and the GeForce Now streaming service, allowing players who have purchased supported games in the Windows Store or other digital outlets to stream them through a GeForce Now client. Microsoft emphasized that a 10-year agreement with Nintendo has also ended, promising to bring the “latest version” of Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles after the merger.
The Microsoft-Nvidia deal is another attempt to try and reassure regulators about the Redmond giant not meaning to play dirty after acquiring the Call of Duty publisher. Popular game franchises from Activision Blizzard should continue to be released on other platforms and game consoles – at least within a 10-year timeframe. Regulatory agencies may read the story differently, however, because there is no guarantee that after that time, Microsoft will not have a more dominant position in the game market and use that to crush the competition. .