Microsoft pulled an ace up its sleeve. This is how he wants to achieve the biggest game purchase

The GeForce Now service works on classic computers with Windows, macOS or ChromeOS, but also on smartphones and other devices. Within this platform, Nvidia offers the possibility to play modern titles even on slower machines, which would otherwise not have enough performance for advanced 3D graphics.

If people put up with the time limit and other restrictions, it is possible to play peacefully and for free. However, people can only achieve better resolution, more faithful details and extended gaming sessions with a paid tariff, the prices of which are in the order of less than 100 crowns per month.

“Xbox remains committed to giving people more choice and finding ways to expand the way people play. This partnership will help expand Nvidia’s catalog of titles to include games like Call of Duty, while giving developers more ways to offer streaming games,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division, in a blog post about the new partnership.

The establishment of a partnership is also praised by Nvidia, which, by the way, is the largest producer of graphics chips in the world. “Combining the very rich catalog of Xbox games with the powerful streaming capabilities of GeForce Now will push cloud gaming into the mainstream,” predicted Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of GeForce at Nvidia.

“Thanks to the partnership, the most popular titles will now be available on our service with just a click, allowing millions more people to play them even without an Xbox,” added Fisher.

At the end of last year, Microsoft announced that it would buy the Activision Blizzard studio, which is responsible for the hits Call of Duty and Candy Crush, for $68.7 billion (roughly CZK 1.67 trillion). After the successful completion of the entire deal, Microsoft should turn into the third largest gaming company in the world, at least in terms of revenue. It will thus rank closely behind Tencent and Sony.

Microsoft would become the owner of a number of famous names in the gaming world – to mention at least Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot and StarCraft.

Microsoft had planned to complete the acquisition during this financial year, which ends on June 30, 2023. It is not yet clear whether that date will be moved due to the investigation.

But the biggest in-game purchase might not happen at all. After an in-depth investigation, the British Antimonopoly Authority (CMA) concluded that the combination of the two companies could distort competition.

The British regulator said a merger between Microsoft and game studio Activision Blizzard could weaken “the important rivalry between the Xbox and PlayStation consoles”. Officials are to publish the final report only on April 26, but it is already clear that the deal will not go smoothly.

In addition, at the end of last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit through which it also wants to block the takeover of the game studio. At the same time, the FTC gives virtually the same reasons as the CMA, namely that the transaction could harm competition.

At the same time, the employees of the US office argue that the American software giant has already “purchased valuable game content and used it to suppress the competition of other consoles” in the past. The authority is primarily concerned that Microsoft could favor its Windows operating system and Xbox game consoles by denying competition access to Activision Blizzard’s popular games.

“We are concerned that Microsoft could use its control over popular games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to harm competition,” said Sorcha O’Carroll, head of mergers and acquisitions at the CMA.

Microsoft Vice Chairman Brad Smith has previously stated that the mentioned concerns are unfounded and the company is ready to resolve the whole situation in the FTC case before the court. “Representatives from industry leader Sony say they are concerned about Call of Duty. But we are saying that we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation consoles,” he added.