Microsoft and UK mobile network EE have announced an expanded partnership that will see the software giant commit to a 10-year deal to bring Xbox PC games to EE customers. It’s part of Microsoft’s series of cloud gaming deals, but this deal is different and could hint at PC gaming coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming.
“Microsoft and EE are expanding our partnership with a 10-year commitment in cloud gaming to bring PC games created by Activision Blizzard, post-acquisition, and Xbox to EE customers,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a tweet this morning. While Microsoft’s cloud gaming deals with Nvidia, Ubitus, and Boosteroid have all involved putting Xbox PC games on a competing cloud gaming service, EE doesn’t make its own.
EE is a UK mobile network operator that provides access to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription through an add-on that customers can choose to add to their monthly mobile contract. It does not operate its own cloud gaming service, nor has it announced any plans to do so.
I asked Microsoft to clarify Spencer’s partnership tweet, but the company said it didn’t have anything else to share in its ambiguous announcement. Similarly, I asked EE about the deal, and didn’t comment on the fact that it doesn’t operate its own cloud gaming service. “As part of our ambition to be the premier destination for gamers, we are naturally reviewing many new and exciting areas to see how we can advance our customers’ gaming experiences with cloud gaming services being just one part of this,” says James Utterson, EE spokesperson. “We don’t have anything else to announce about our future plans at this time.”
Microsoft is more likely to be preparing to add PC gaming to Xbox Cloud Gaming than EE is preparing to launch an unannounced competing cloud gaming service. But we haven’t seen indications of Microsoft building data centers capable of running PC games in the cloud, even if the company is publicly testing mouse and keyboard support for Xbox Cloud Gaming. This support is limited to Xbox console games rather than PC games.
Microsoft is keen on bringing Xbox PC games to gamers on its cloud gaming services. The software maker struck a deal with Nvidia in February that saw Xbox PC games get access to GeForce Now. If Microsoft’s Activision deal is approved, it will also bring Activision Blizzard games to Nvidia’s service.
Microsoft is currently streaming Xbox console games through Xbox Cloud Gaming using dedicated Xbox Series X-like hardware to power the experience. PC gaming on Xbox Cloud Gaming requires a different kind of hardware investment, especially if Microsoft wants to match Nvidia’s impressive RTX 4080 cloud gaming platform.
With both Microsoft and EE declining to comment, we’re left wondering what the “PC gaming” part of this 10-year partnership means. The announcement comes just days after both Microsoft and Sony responded to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concerns about Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft has signed 10-year licensing deals to try to appease regulators in the UK and Europe, while Sony fears Microsoft will sabotage it. Call of duty on PlayStation.
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