Microsoft wants to bring Activision PC games to Boosteroid streaming service

Microsoft has signed an agreement to bring Xbox PC games to the Boosteroid cloud gaming platform. The company from Redmond also wants to bring Activision titles such as Call of Duty to the service, but then the Activision acquisition must first get the green light.

Microsoft has signed a ten-year agreement with the Ukrainian development team of Boosteroid, under which Xbox PC games are coming to the platform. Boosteroid recently passed the milestone of 4 million global users and is, according to Microsoft, “the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world.” The agreement with Boosteroid is very similar to a previous deal Microsoft made with Nvidia to make Xbox PC games available for the GeForce NOW streaming service.

In the announcement, Microsoft says the agreement with Boosteroid and other recent collaborations means that popular franchises such as Call of Duty will reach more than 150 million additional players and that games from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard will be playable on multiple cloud gaming services and via multiple subscriptions.

With the announcement, Microsoft is trying to further solidify its arguments to have the acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved. One of the criticisms came, among other things, from a British regulator who previously indicated that the acquisition means that Microsoft will become even stronger in cloud gaming, which would harm competition in this growing sector. Through deals like the one with Boosteroid, Microsoft is probably trying to take the wind out of these arguments.

Microsoft wants to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. That would be the largest acquisition in the gaming sector to date. The companies announced the deal last year. The American regulator FTC, among others, is critical because Microsoft would gain an unfair advantage and could limit competition in the market. The European Commission is also critical and the British regulator even states that the takeover could harm gamers. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently reacted angrily to the criticism from the British regulator. He thinks that the United Kingdom is missing economic opportunities by voting against and thinks that the watchdog is going too far with the line of the American FTC.