Ubisoft now holds the cloud streaming rights for Call of Duty and all other Activision Blizzard titles releasing over the next 15 years.
Microsoft agreed to hand those rights to Ubisoft to convince UK regulator the CMA to approve its Activision Blizzard merger. The CMA approved the deal this morning, allowing Microsoft to complete its $68.7 billion acquisition this afternoon.
“The transaction will give Ubisoft exclusive worldwide rights to stream the Activision Blizzard games, except for non-exclusive rights to cloud streaming versions in the European Economic Area, for all existing and current Activision Blizzard games as well as those to be released over the next 15 years. These rights will exist in perpetuity,” wrote Ubisoft in a press release.
Ubisoft+ and Activision Blizzard cloud streaming
The French publisher said the rights will strengthen its Ubisoft+ subscription service and grant it the power to license streaming access to Activision Blizzard titles, including future releases, to other cloud gaming companies, service providers, and console makers.
“This will help expand access for more players all around the world across all streaming services,” added the company.
Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said the company is “firmly convinced by the strong potential of the cloud gaming market.”
“These streaming rights will enable us to deliver even more experiences to more players across the world than ever before,” he added. “Now that the transaction is complete, we will begin working on the operational aspects of bringing these games to Ubisoft+, our proprietary subscription service and distribution ecosystem.”