Activision Blizzard Will Offer New Player Experiences Through Google Deal

Activision Blizzard announced that the company is excited to offer new experiences to players as it has entered into a multi-year strategic relationship with Google. Under this deal, the game hosting infrastructure of Activision Blizzard is now going to be provided by Google Cloud. The agreement also means that YouTube is now the worldwide streaming partner for esports leagues and events like, among others, Call of Duty, Hearthstone, and Overwatch. This streaming partnership doesn't include China.

Google Deal

In a press statement, Activision Blizzard said that they went for Google Cloud because of what it can offer like AI capabilities, advanced data analytics, and even the commitment to open source tech. This partnership should be beneficial to all players, particularly those who play high-fidelity games on any device, especially with the low latency and premium network quality-of-service.

Activision Blizzard Chief Information Officer Jacques Erasmus shared that Google Cloud offers the best-in-class infrastructure and they are "excited to partner with Google to drive the next generation of gaming innovation for the industry."

Meanwhile, Google Cloud Head of Gaming Sunil Rayan said that they are just as excited "to now expand our relationship and help power one of the largest and most renowned game developers in the world." Google, according to Rayan, has already been working with Activision Blizzard across different mobile titles offering analytics capabilities to boost overall player experience.

YouTube Exclusive

Activision Blizzard hosts different esports events and with the agreement, YouTube is going to be the one to host the many official live broadcasts. This includes the inaugural Call of Duty League season, which started on January 24. YouTube is also going to stream the new season of the Overwatch League, which begins on February 8. Not only are the tournaments going to be livestreamed on the league's official YouTube channel, they're also going to be archived as well.

YouTube Head of Gaming Ryan Wyatt shared that on an annual basis, at least 200 million gamers a day watch a minimum of 50 billion hours of gaming content. He went on to say that YouTube has long united "gamers and their passionate fans with the most popular video gaming platform in the world." Being a former Call of Duty esports commentator, Wyatt added that he is excited that Activision Blizzard chose YouTube as the platform live stream the matches offered by the different leagues.

Activision Blizzard Esports CEO Pete Vlastelica revealed that this year is exciting "for Activision Blizzard Esports as we head into the inaugural season of Call of Duty League and our first ever season of homestands for Overwatch League all around the world." The company, Vlastelica said, has also been able to offer deliver high-quality competitive entertainment and through this agreement, is going to "help us deliver on that promise at new levels, by combining our passionate communities of fans and players with YouTube's powerful content platform and exciting history of supporting next-generation entertainment."