Microsoft is expanding its gaming unit to appease opponents and avoid blocking the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
After initially opposing tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) over its acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), software company Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has partnered with Microsoft to bring games to Xbox for PC to your cloud gaming service. Under the new agreement between Microsoft and Nvidia, the software company would incorporate Microsoft’s Xbox PC games into its GeForce NOW gaming service.
Nvidia forms a new relationship with Microsoft
The change in Nvidia and Microsoft’s relationship follows a meeting between Microsoft Chairman Brad Smith and EU officials over the purchase of Activision Blizzard. Smith met with officials on February 21 to convince them that the purchase of the video game company would be suitable for the competition, thus disempowering the monopoly.
Microsoft Announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard on January 18, 2022, and has since drawn opposition from many companies, including Nvidia. At the time of the announcement last year, the multinational technology company revealed that it would be an all-cash transaction worth $68.7 billion. The deal was meant to take Microsoft to the third-biggest gaming company by revenue, after Tencent and Sony. More pressure also came from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in December when it moved to block the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal. Earlier this year, Bloomberg revealed that Nvidia and Google expressed their concerns about the acquisition to the FTC. The companies joined a growing list of opponents of Microsoft over the deal, which includes Sony Group Corp.
Microsoft is expanding its gaming unit to appease opponents and avoid blocking the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The company is increasing the games available for gamers to purchase through its cloud data centers. At a press conference, Smith announced that Xbox games will be available on Nvidia-owned GeForce NOW cloud services. Adding that development was effective immediately, he said that all Activision Blizzard titles will also go to GeForce NOW, if the Activision acquisition goes through.
Nvidia will add Xbox games for PC to GeForce NOW
As Microsoft and Nvidia formed a new relationship, the companies jointly Announced a 10-year partnership to add Xbox games for PC to GeForce NOW. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that Xbox is continually expanding its offerings for customers. He said the partnership would also help Nvidia increase its catalog of titles, including Call of Duty. GeForce Senior Vice President Jeff Fisher commented:
“Combining Xbox’s incredibly rich catalog of first-party games with the high-performance streaming capabilities of GeForce NOW will propel cloud gaming into a mainstream offering that appeals to gamers at all interest and experience levels. Through this partnership, more of the world’s most popular titles will now be available from the cloud with just one click, for millions more gamers.”
Unlike its previous stance against Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, Nvidia has now declared its “full support for regulatory approval of the acquisition.”
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