It's just getting silly now: Microsoft inks 10-year deal to bring Activision games to a UK mobile phone network

pcgamer.com:

Someone needs to wrestle the fountain pen out of Phil Spencer's hand. The Xbox boss just can't stop inking ten-year deals to bring Activision games to different platforms (in the event its acquisition goes through): He's signed them with Nintendo(opens in new tab), Nvidia(opens in new tab), Boosteroid and Ubitus(opens in new tab) (I hadn't heard of them before they made the deal either), and has offered them to Sony(opens in new tab) and Steam(opens in new tab), neither of which were interested. 

Well, add another contract to the pile, because while we weren't looking, Phil went out and signed another ten-year commitment to EE, one of the UK's 'Big Four(opens in new tab)' mobile phone networks (and an internet service provider, too). The deal was announced by Spencer in a tweet posted earlier today.

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 deal apparently pertains to «cloud gaming,» but eagle-eyed readers will spot that the statement is otherwise totally devoid of detail about what it means to bring «PC games built by Activision Blizzard» to the company responsible for my spotty 5G connection. 

I imagine the details of the deal are fairly irrelevant to Microsoft, which has been accruing these kinds of agreements mostly in order to wave them in the faces of the various national regulators scrutinising its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. be that this just commits the two companies to keep that going. Or perhaps EE is on the verge of announcing some kind of ill-advised