Microsoft has struck a 10-year deal to bring “Call of Duty” and other Activision games to Nvidia’s gaming platform, if the Xbox maker is allowed to finish its much-contested $69 billion acquisition of Activision.
Regulators and competitors like Sony have come out hard against the proposed Microsoft-Activision tie-up, and a Nvidia deal could allay concerns by ensuring more ways for consumers to get games controlled by Microsoft.
Britain earlier this month said the deal could harm gamers by weakening the rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation, leading to higher prices, fewer decisions and fewer innovation for thousands and thousands of players, in addition to stifling competition in cloud gaming.
Microsoft President Brad Smith told a news conference on Tuesday he was now more optimistic of getting the Activision acquisition done after the Nvidia deal and an analogous arrangement with Nintendo.
Phil Eisler, vice chairman and general manager of Nvidia’s GeForce Now segment, said that titles such that “Call of Duty” is not going to be available on Nvidia’s service unless Microsoft acquires Activision but that other Microsoft-owned titles akin to “Minecraft” are covered immediately under the 10-year license agreement.
“We were somewhat concerned about it initially,” Eisler said of the Microsoft-Activision deal. “But then we reached out to Microsoft, they usually were very open about wanting to enable cloud gaming and work with us on a 10-year license agreement. So over time, they made us an increasing number of comfortable with it.”
Eisler said Nvidia isn’t paying Microsoft for access to the titles, which is similar arrangement the corporate has with other gaming corporations akin to “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. As a substitute, Nvidia’s 25 million customers might want to pay Nvidia for access to its cloud gaming platform and pay Microsoft for its games.
Shares of Microsoft were down 2.2%, Nvidia was down 2.8% and Activision was down 0.6% in a broadly lower market on Tuesday afternoon.
Nvidia said it now supports the Xbox maker’s bid to buy Activision, however the deal could still be a tough sell with regulators. European officials issued Microsoft a warning in regards to the deal earlier this month, while the Federal Trade Commission has asked a judge to dam it. The UK competition watchdog has said Microsoft could have to divest “Call of Duty.”
Smith said he hoped that rival Sony Group will consider doing the identical form of cope with Nvidia.
Sony has led opposition to the Microsoft-Activision deal, saying last 12 months it was “bad for competition, bad for the gaming industry and bad for gamers themselves.”
Aside from Sony and Nvidia, other corporations including Alphabet’s Google had expressed concerns to the FTC in regards to the deal, in response to media reports.
Microsoft has pledged to maintain “Call of Duty” on Sony’s PlayStation. The recognition of the first-person shooter franchise is undimmed nearly 20 years after launch, with the most recent installment achieving $1 billion sales in its first 10 days in October.
The US tech giant has said the deal is about greater than “Call of Duty.” It has said buying the corporate that also makes “Overwatch” and “Candy Crush” would charge its growth in mobile, PC, and cloud gaming, in addition to consoles, helping it compete with the likes of Tencent in addition to Sony.
