Microsoft is restructuring its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The transfer of rights is designed to appease regulators in the UK that are concerned about the impact Microsoft\u2019s proposed $68.7 billion deal will have on cloud gaming competition. The restructured deal has triggered a new regulatory investigation in the UK that could last until October 18th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cTo address the concerns about the impact of the proposed acquisition on cloud game streaming raised by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, we are restructuring the transaction to acquire a narrower set of rights,\u201d says Microsoft president Brad Smith<\/a>. \u201cThis includes executing an agreement\u202feffective\u202fat the closing of our merger that transfers\u202fthe cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft Entertainment SA, a leading global game publisher. The rights will be in perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This restructured deal means that if Microsoft does close its proposed acquisition then it will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft won\u2019t be able to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games on rival services either. Instead, Ubisoft will control the streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games outside of the EU, and license titles back to Microsoft to be included in Xbox Cloud Gaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cUbisoft will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard\u2019s games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage,\u201d explains Smith. \u201cIt will also give Ubisoft the opportunity to offer Activision Blizzard\u2019s games to cloud gaming services running non-Windows operating systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ubisoft will also add Activision Blizzard games to its Ubisoft Plus Multi Access<\/a> subscription, which is available across PC, Xbox, Amazon Luna, and on PlayStation via Ubisoft Plus Classics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) first blocked Microsoft\u2019s<\/a> deal in April citing cloud gaming concerns, before agreeing to negotiations with the Xbox maker following the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s (FTC) loss<\/a> in a US federal court last month. Now the CMA has signaled a new investigation phase thanks to Microsoft\u2019s restructured deal, with a statutory deadline set for October 18th \u2014 the same deadline that Microsoft recently agreed in its extension of the deal closing date<\/a> with Activision. A source familiar with Microsoft\u2019s plans tells The Verge<\/em> that the company now isn\u2019t expecting to be able to close its Activision Blizzard deal until early October.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The CMA has now imposed a final order on Microsoft\u2019s original deal, prohibiting it worldwide while it investigates this new restructuring of the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition. The CMA notes<\/a> that \u201cUbisoft will also be able, for a fee, to require Microsoft to adapt Activision\u2019s titles to operating systems other than Windows, such as Linux, if it decides to use or license out the cloud streaming rights to Activision\u2019s titles to a cloud gaming service that runs a non-Windows operating system.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n