Microsoft signs a 10-year deal with Spain’s Nware after the UK blocked Activision’s bid

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Friday it had signed a 10-year deal with Nware to bring Xbox and Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) games to the Spanish cloud gaming platform, days after Britain banned it. $69 billion to buy Call of Duty.

The agreement marks the latest effort by Microsoft to ease concerns that its purchase of Activision will stifle competition in cloud gaming, and was the reason the Competition and Markets Authority cited it for vetoing the biggest deal in gaming.

“While it’s still early days for the emerging cloud sector of gaming, this new partnership along with our other recent commitments will make more popular games available on cloud game streaming services than they are today,” said Brad Smith, President of Microsoft.

The Xbox console maker, which plans to appeal the CMA’s decision, has signed similar deals with owners of streaming platforms including Valve Corp, Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Boosteroid.

It also offered Sony — an outspoken opponent of the deal — a 10-year “Call of Duty” license, in line with an agreement to bring a multi-billion dollar franchise to Nintendo’s Switch.

In its decision on Wednesday, the CMA said Microsoft has an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, Windows PC operating system and cloud provider Azure.

The Activision deal is the largest involving tech companies that have been banned by the regulator. Europe will decide on the deal by May 22nd. The US Federal Trade Commission is also seeking to prevent it.

Shares of Microsoft were slightly lower in US premarket trading, while Activision shares were up 0.2%.

Additional reporting by Tyachi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Elori

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.