What you need to know
- Phil Spencer announced on Twitter this morning that Xbox will be committing to a 10-year deal with UK cellphone carrier EE to bring Activision Blizzard games to its customers.
- EE is a UK-based cellphone network and ISP.
- Xbox already has a partnership with EE and delivers monthly paid Xbox console and Game Pass deals to its customers, this appears to be a legally binding arrangement for that to continue if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through.
In a show of commitment to keeping its games and cloud systems on multiple platforms, Xbox today announced another 10-year deal, this time to UK-based cellphone provider EE. Phil Spencer tweeted this news bright and early at 7am BST.
Microsoft and @EE are expanding our partnership with a 10-year commitment in cloud gaming to bring PC games built by Activision Blizzard, following the acquisition, and Xbox to @EE customers. We are committed to bring more games to more people, however they choose to play.April 11, 2023
The tweet from Phil states "We are committed to bring more games to more people, however they choose to play." With this being Xbox's fifth announced 10-year contract, it's clear they are driving this message home. During the great Activision Blizzard sage so far Xbox has pledged 10-year commitments to Nintendo, NVIDIA Geoforce, and lesser-known cloud gaming providers Ubitus and Boosteroid.
Xbox and gaming with EE
In the UK, EE already offers some well-priced Xbox deals for which its customers can pay monthly with their cellphone plan.
Currently, from £21 a month, you can get an Xbox Series S plus two-year Game Pass Ultimate. Customers can add these to their existing mobile plan and can appreciate the convenience of an all-in-one package. EE customers can even order a monthly paid Xbox Series X|S controller for £4 a month, simply by adding to their plan via the website or mobile app. The gaming plans also come with Unlimited gaming data, so customers can reap the benefits of Xbox Cloud Gaming from their cell phones without worrying about going over data caps.
It remains to be seen if this 10-year commitment announced today brings anything different to the table, other than the promise of delivering these deals over a longer time frame. With the Activision Blizzard acquisition saga likely drawing to a close soon, it may just be another box to tick in Xbox's efforts to convince regulators of its good intentions, especially with keeping ABK games on multiple platforms. Could Phil have any more 10-year contracts in his briefcase?
