Hot on the heels of the Nintendo and Nvidia deals, Microsoft has signed a new 10-year agreement with Ukrainian cloud gaming provider Boosteroid to bring Xbox PC titles to the latter’s subscription service. The agreement notably includes Activision Blizzard IP titles including Call of Duty, pending regulatory approval of the Microsoft-Activision deal.
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In the wake of global regulatory concerns surrounding its proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Microsoft has been making significant moves to bring its video game offerings to players across the industry to address said concerns. In February, the company secured deals with Nintendo and Nvidia to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo hardware and the GeForce Now cloud gaming service, respectively (with the latter also getting access to other Xbox titles). In the third such move, Microsoft has now announced a similar 10-year agreement with the Ukrainian company Boosteroid, which is the world’s largest cloud gaming provider.
The agreement will see Boosteroid hosting Xbox PC games on its service, including Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard PC titles should the Microsoft-Activision deal go through.
Microsoft Corp. and Boosteroid on Tuesday announced a 10-year agreement to bring Xbox PC games to Boosteroid’s cloud gaming platform. Boosteroid, which has its software development team in Ukraine, recently surpassed 4 million users globally and has become the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world. The agreement will also enable Activision Blizzard PC titles to be streamed by Boosteroid customers after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes.
When combined with other partnerships recently announced by Microsoft, this means popular franchises such as “Call of Duty” will surpass more than 150 million additional players, and make games built by Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard playable on multiple cloud gaming services and subscriptions.
Xbox head and CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer reiterated the tech giant’s desire to give players more ways and platforms to enjoy video games:
We believe in the power of games to bring people together. That’s why Xbox is committed to give everyone more ways to play their favorite games, across devices. Bringing Xbox PC games to Boosteroid members, including Activision Blizzard titles such as ‘Call of Duty’ once the deal closes, is yet another step in realizing that vision.
Boosteroid CEO Ivan Shvaichenko expressed support for Microsoft’s ambitions and for the latter’s aid of war-torn Ukraine:
Boosteroid shares Microsoft’s vision of bringing games to as many people, places and platforms as possible. It has long been our goal to provide gamers with an opportunity to enjoy their favorite titles on any device close at hand. Today’s announcement is yet another step in this direction. Also, with our development team based in Ukraine, we appreciate Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to Ukraine, and we will be working together on an initiative supporting our local game development community to invest further in the economic recovery of the country.
Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith also expressed solidarity with Ukraine at large as well as his hopes for the approval of the acquisition:
This partnership builds on the $430 million in technology and financial assistance we have provided Ukraine since Russia’s unlawful invasion, and it exemplifies the steps we will continue to take to support Ukraine’s 160,000 software developers. It also adds to our recent agreements with Nintendo and NVIDIA, making even more clear to regulators that our acquisition of Activision Blizzard will make ‘Call of Duty’ available on far more devices than before.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft-Sony conflict over the deal rages on in the U.S. and the U.K. Stay tuned here at MP1st for all updates and announcements about Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.
Source: Microsoft