Today is significant for the video game industry. We knew for quite some time now that Microsoft would be closing on the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The only thing in their way was the regulator’s approval from the CMA. However, it was a lengthy battle for Microsoft, and one of the means to ensure this deal went through was to appease the CMA. Initially, the regulator was not fond of the deal, but Microsoft managed to win them over by giving streaming rights to Ubisoft when it came to Activision Blizzard titles. That was a huge deal, and today, Ubisoft’s SVP of Strategic Partnerships & Business Development, Chris Early, chimed in on what Ubisoft+ subscribers can expect.
The acquisition is finalized, and now the ball can start rolling for the future of Activision Blizzard, the line of video games, Game Pass additions, and Ubisoft+. But if you were worried that this new move is another nail in the coffin for the removal of physical games, you’d be wrong. At least, that’s what Chris Early believed when he was asked about the future of physical media for the video game industry. According to Chris, the future will still see physical games as there are players who want a physical disk or purchase a title as a gift. However, there is the thought process of physical media sales dwindling down.
There’s a collector edition market. There’s the aspect of gifting physical items and allowing access for people to be able to easily purchase a game in a store and gift them to their friends or family. Some people will always want to own the physical disk. I just don’t think it’s going away. Do I think physical sales might get lower over time? Sure, but will it ever completely go away? I don’t think so.
Chris Evans – Ubisoft
With that said, Ubisoft is pushing streaming more, especially now that they have the ability to stream Activision Blizzard games on Ubisoft+. Likewise, there is the new ability to license these games to other streaming services, so we should start seeing Activision Blizzard games becoming more widely available for cloud gaming. Unfortunately, if you’re a subscriber to Ubisoft+, then there’s no date we can put on any of the Activision Blizzard game’s arrival at the moment.
Chris Early noted that players will have to wait as the team must take time to ensure their back end fully supports the upcoming games on the platform. But again, this deal just closed today, so we can expect the process to start getting underway for these upcoming game additions to the platform.
