The amount of agreements that Microsoft is making to convince regulators that its planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard won’t harm the video game industry is really starting to stack up. Boosteroid, a cloud gaming platform that allows users to enjoy high-end video games at 60 FPS (Full HD 1080p) on a PC, laptop, tablet, Android TV, and smartphones, has revealed that Microsoft will bring Xbox PC games, as well as Activision Blizzard titles (e.g., Call of Duty), to the service as part of a new 10-year agreement. Boosteroid, which has its software development team in Ukraine, describes itself as the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world, having recently surpassed 4 million users globally.
“We believe in the power of games to bring people together. That’s why Xbox is committed to give everyone more ways to play their favorite games, across devices,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Gaming, Microsoft. “Bringing Xbox PC games to Boosteroid members, including Activision Blizzard titles such as ‘Call of Duty’ once the deal closes, is yet another step in realizing that vision.”
“Boosteroid shares Microsoft’s vision of bringing games to as many people, places and platforms as possible. It has long been our goal to provide gamers with an opportunity to enjoy their favorite titles on any device close at hand,” said Ivan Shvaichenko, Boosteroid CEO. “Today’s announcement is yet another step in this direction. Also, with our development team based in Ukraine, we appreciate Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to Ukraine, and we will be working together on an initiative supporting our local game development community to invest further in the economic recovery of the country.”
“Microsoft partnering with Boosteroid is welcome news and further evidence of the company’s ongoing support for Ukraine,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation. “Boosteroid’s Ukrainian dev team has built a world-class streaming platform under the most challenging circumstances and demonstrates the ingenuity and creativity of our citizens and local game developers.”
“This partnership builds on the $430 million in technology and financial assistance we have provided Ukraine since Russia’s unlawful invasion, and it exemplifies the steps we will continue to take to support Ukraine’s 160,000 software developers,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft Vice Chair and President. “It also adds to our recent agreements with Nintendo and NVIDIA, making even more clear to regulators that our acquisition of Activision Blizzard will make ‘Call of Duty’ available on far more devices than before.”
From a Boosteroid press release:
The agreement will enable Activision Blizzard PC titles to be streamed by Boosteroid customers after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes.
When combined with other partnerships recently announced by Microsoft, this means popular franchises such as “Call of Duty” will surpass more than 150 million additional players, and make games built by Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard playable on multiple cloud gaming services and subscriptions.
Boosteroid has operated since 2017 and has its research and development operations in Ukraine, based mostly in Kyiv and Kharkiv. Despite having two offices in Kharkiv damaged by Russian missile attacks, the company has continued to innovate and grow during the past 13 months of war. Since the beginning of 2023 alone, it has announced new steps to bring added cloud-based gaming services to the Mac, Chromebooks, Android set-top boxes and LG TVs. It offers cloud game streaming through both browser-based and dedicated applications, including for Windows, Linux, Android, Android TV and the macOS.
In addition to Ukraine itself, Boosteroid now serves gamers in the United States, United Kingdom and countries across the European Union. It operates through data center operations located in six U.S. states, including Microsoft’s home state of Washington, as well as in the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia.
The gaming community is a vibrant part of Ukraine’s software ecosystem. Microsoft recently added support for the Ukrainian language for the Xbox console dashboard, PC and mobile apps. In spring 2023, Microsoft will launch PC Game Pass in Ukraine.