Microsoft, Activision to Sell Streaming to Secure Biggest Video Gaming Deal

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Microsoft, Activision to Sell Streaming to Secure Biggest Video Gaming Deal

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

"Call of Duty" maker Activision will sell its non-European streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment to get the biggest deal yet in video-gaming past British regulators, potential owner Microsoft said on Tuesday.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the only regulator to block Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, in a test of its post-Brexit clout, Reuters said.
Microsoft said on Tuesday it believed its new proposal was a "substantially different transaction" and that it expected the CMA review process to be completed before Oct. 18.
The CMA in a statement said the revised transaction would "allow Ubisoft to commercialize these rights to other cloud gaming services providers (including to Microsoft itself)".
Ubisoft's shares listed in Paris were up 6.5% at 0723 GMT, making them the top gainer on the pan European STOXX 600 index.
The British regulator in July took the rare step of reopening its investigation into the deal after Microsoft said commitments accepted by the European Union and a new agreement with Sony constituted a material change.
But it said on Tuesday it did not accept Microsoft's reasoning, forcing the US giant to come back with a new deal to address its concerns over competition in the nascent cloud streaming market.
Under the new terms, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.
The new transaction deals with streaming rights outside the European Economic Area, reflecting the fact that Brussels had already approved the deal.
Ubisoft will, however, receive a non-exclusive license for Activision's European gaming rights too, enabling the French group to also stream the rights in the EU.



Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
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Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)

Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern.

Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised on a number of occasions during the first few weeks of his papacy.

"In particular, it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them or even to replace them," Leo said at an event held as part of the Roman Catholic Jubilee or Holy Year.

AI proponents say it will speed up scientific and technological progress and help people to carry out routine tasks, granting them more time to pursue higher-value and creative work.

The US-born pontiff said attention was needed to protect "healthy, fair and sound lifestyles, especially for the good of younger generations."

He noted that AI's "static memory" was in no way comparable to the "creative, dynamic" power of human memory.

"Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can pre-package," he said.

Leo, who became pope in May, has spoken previously of the threat posed by AI to jobs and has called on journalists to use it responsibly.