Originally slated as a Plan B & now the WHOLE PLAN, Microsoft announced an agreement with #Ubisoft to buy the Cloud Gaming rights of Activision Blizzard to mitigate concerns of its ABK acquisition by the regulator CMA.

Under the restructured transaction, Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on Xbox Cloud Gaming or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.

On Ubisoft's end, the company will compensate Microsoft for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard’s games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage.

Also, Ubisoft can add Activision Blizzard games on Ubisoft+ on the UK market.

Interestingly, the CMA responded that the Ubisoft deal would also mean that games needs to be reached through Linux-based computers & not exclusively on Windows computers (probably macOS too).

Finally & to add a little pressure, the CMA confirmed that this development and remade deal needs new scrutiny, which has a deadline date of Oct 18th, 2023.

Hypothetically CMA taking this long, puts the ABK's Termination Fee raise if the deal fell agains Microsoft in effect.

#Gaming #GamingNews

Great news for those expecting the gaming industry stop with the lame excuse of not taking seriously gaming development on Linux "because the technicalities" on developing in parallel Windows & Linux when for years, Apple seems to be a "non-problem" with macOS based on UNIX.

Final recap of Day 2 of FTC Preliminary Injunction against Microsoft buying ABK:

-As with Jim Ryan, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida originally didn't have any issue as Phil Spencer called himself the day it was announce the transaction
-Spencer reiterates that Xbox exclusive games are not the 100% od the day-to-day at Microsoft Gaming nowadays
-Spencer: “Sony has a significant catalog of exclusives games. It’s drastically larger, dramatically larger than what we have on Xbox today. Both Sony and Nintendo’s first-party is stronger than Xbox.”
-FTC tried to reinforce Spencer saying under oath that Call Of Duty will be still releasing for Playstation
-At the same time, Spencer did acknowledged that beyond the 10 year mark things cannot be assured as it will depend on the state of the gaming market itself
-FTC tried to make it sound weird that Microsoft is paying almost $70 billion for a gaming conglomerate just to get ahold of mobile gaming studios as main target, but Spencer backfired that mobile gaming is one of the footprints that Xbox is aiming at
-FTC for the third time brought Nintendo narrative
-A common-sense info that the FTC should know, but their lawyer asked if Microsoft needs to pay the agreed fee to Activision Blizzard shareholders right away. Spencer replied: “No, when you acquire something it’s not a payment. It’s really a transfer of cash into an asset called Activision that you believe it retains the value that you have acquired. It’s incorrect financially.”
-FTC called Dov Zimring, Google’s former Stadia product lead as witness
-FTC asked Zimring to describe Stadia
-Zimring: “To our knowledge we had the best technology in the market. We had performance capabilities that didn’t exist in the [cloud] market like 4K.”

“We had prototyped on Windows early on... the mission we had established at the very beginning was to enable revolutionary experiences... we saw Windows as limiting to innovate in that regard because we didn’t have control over the operating system.”

-Zimring acknowledged that Stadia SDK was Linux-based due operating cost saving
-The closure of Stadia Games & Entertainment with the sudden stop of investment for AAA games was due wrong projected numbers
-Originally, Google was willing to spend five years building AAA games for Stadia
-FTC returned to Spencer
-FTC wanted to a third time force Spencer to pledge on COD availability on Playstation but WAS CUT BY THE JUDGE WHO APPEARED TO BE ANNOYED ON THE FTC LAWYER LINES OF QUESTIONING THAT WERE STRAIGHT DISSINGENOUS.

Judge: "I don’t need that, I’m going to cut off your questioning."
-Judge wrapped things for today and will NOT ACCEPT this process to go beyond next Thursday, pretty much in line of Microsoft desired timeframe (5 days)

Topics have been revealed that Google will be talking entirely about Stadia (not Google Stream) in its turn for the Game Developers Conference on March 15 and the main Keynote will be at 9AM (PST) with Careen Yapp, Business Development Manager at Stadia.

Google will then broadcast the following sessions on the official Google Developers channel:

-Play Testing Made Easy on Stadia – Ryan Bartley, Product Manager
-How to write a Windows emulator for Linux from scratch – Marcin Undak, Senior Software Engineer
-Stadia Adventures in slow server code on Unity – Scott Wardle, Technical Solutions Engineer Profiling on Stadia – Pierric Gimmig, Software Engineer; Michael Anttila, Software Engineer

In my opinion, the second and third are the ones that should have more attention and Google have discussed this a long time ago.

https://stadia.dev/blog/join-stadia-at-the-google-for-games-developer-summit-on-march-15/

#Stadia #GDC22 #GDC2022

Coming as a surprise given its openness to making Destiny 2 as accessible as possible, many noted that Bungie's support page for the game was updated indicating that there is no support for Destiny 2 on the Steam Deck.

In fact, the article claims that any attempt to sneak into Destiny 2 directly is eligible for an account ban.

Apparently, Bungie hasn't worked with Proton (Valve's Windows game interpreter for Linux) and the only exception according to language is that there is an entire Windows environment on the device.

It's not really known if this also has to do now with the condition that Bungie will become a subsidiary of Playstation soon, but technically, when Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass Cloud support comes to the Steam Deck, it shouldn't. be a problem.

https://help.bungie.net/hc/en-us/articles/360049024592-Destiny-2-Steam-Guide

#Destiny2 #Bungie #SteamDeck

Siendo una sorpresa dado a su apertura de tener a Destiny 2 lo más accesible posible, muchos notaron que la página de soporte de Bungie para el juego, se actualizó indicando que no hay compatibilidad para Destiny 2 en Steam Deck.

De hecho, el artículo reclama que cualquier intento de colar a Destiny 2 de manera directa es elegible a un veto de cuenta.

Al parecer, Bungie no ha trabajado con Proton (el interpretador de juegos Windows para Linux de Valve) y la única excepción según el lenguaje, es que exista un ambiente entero de Windows en el aparato.

Se desconoce en realidad si además, esto tiene que ver ahora con la condición de que Bungie se convertirá en una subsidiaria de Playstation próximamente, pero técnicamente, cuando el soporte para Google Stadia y Xbox Game Pass Cloud se de para el Steam Deck, no debería ser un problema.

https://help.bungie.net/hc/en-us/articles/360049024592-Destiny-2-Steam-Guide

#Destiny2 #Bungie #SteamDeck

Elogio pero MÁS NADA y es que Tim Sweeney confirmó mediante una conversación en Twitter que NO hay planes de traer a Fortnite a Steam Deck por la sencilla razón de que SteamOS es una distribución de Linux (en esta ocasión basado en Arch Linux) y que no confía en los métodos de anti trampas, particularmente por el pequeño nicho de usuarios de Linux y la gran capacidad de personalizar el kernel.

Otro ejemplo de que Epic Games NO SON LA SALVACIÓN de la industria que quieren mostrarse y NO SOY jugador de Fortnite.

Curiosamente, Sweeney fue de los primeros en elogiar al Steam Deck por su innovación (a pesar que el concepto de PC portable NO es nuevo), pero hubiera sido bueno también poner su grano de area.

Vía The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22923163/fortnite-steam-deck-update-epic-tim-sweeney

#Fortnite #EpicGames #SteamDeck

Again wanna say something about the Stadia saga...

Their reactivity rather proactivity have been getting off my nerve months ago.

Things like the Windows to Linux code interpreter for the Stadia SDK was something that needed to be on day one, not after the problem pf studios "fearing" developing for Linux environment and this is another example of their annoying reactivity.

While it is true that developing gaming in Linux is shamefully decade late IMO.

I am maintaining hope, not faith, but hope.
Besides, it is fine by me if they rather maintain the service even if it means that AAA games are over.

For some reason I am seeing in my Twitter Timeline about the debate about of Steam Deck being a "Nintendo Switch Killer" and a meme is right, neither Sega Game Gear killed the Gameboy (way ahead of it's time BTW), PSP didn't killed the Nintendo DS and PS Vita didn't killed the 3DS.

But one thing is sure... Valve is doing a GREA JOB giving Linux the protagonist IT DESERVES on being another good platform for PC gaming outside Windows and macOS AND WAY OVERDUE!