Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been confusing the gaming industry, with many wondering what would become of some of the biggest gaming titles. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced during a recent press conference that the company has partnered with NVIDIA to allow all Xbox exclusives available on PC to appear on the GeForce Now cloud service.
If the partnership is approved, cloud service users will gain access to Activision Blizzard titles, including Call of Duty, expanding the popular franchise to another 150 million people.
The partnership with NVIDIA is part of a 10-year agreement in which Microsoft promises to release all its games and Activision Blizzard projects on the GeForce Now cloud service if the purchase is completed.
To use GeForce Now, players must first purchase Xbox titles from the Microsoft Store, Steam, or the Epic Games Store. NVIDIA will then be able to broadcast these games on various platforms, including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, and smartphones, via its service.
This agreement follows the completion of a similar agreement between Microsoft and Nintendo, which will see Call of Duty games released on the Japanese company’s platforms over the next decade. Smith hopes these collaborations will lead to talks with Sony, which has yet to agree to such proposals from its competitor.
While the partnership with NVIDIA is exciting news for GeForce Now cloud service users, how European regulators will react to Microsoft’s proposal to acquire Activision Blizzard remains to be seen. The company has been in talks with the British regulator CMA, which has suggested that Microsoft sell a part of Activision Blizzard, specifically Call of Duty, for the deal to be approved.
