Streaming Provider License

Microsoft licenses its rights under a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to Eligible Streaming Services to stream Eligible Games for the sole benefit of Consumers in accordance with the Consumer License, as defined in and pursuant to the Commitments entered into by Microsoft and made legally binding by the European Commission in its decision under Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) 139/2004 in case M. 10646 -Microsoft/Activision Blizzard. Capitalized terms used herein will have the definition provided in the Commitments and are included below for reference. As stated in the Commitments, the Streaming Provider License is subject to the following terms: Unless otherwise agreed with Authorized Game Stores, Eligible Streaming Services shall not receive any game sales revenues, in-app purchases, or any other future game-related transactional revenue generated by Eligible Games for the streaming of Eligible Games. For the avoidance of doubt, in case Eligible Streaming Services also offer Eligible Games for purchase, or as part of a multi-game subscription service under a respective agreement with Microsoft, this clause has no impact on the allocation of revenue set out in such agreement. Eligible Streaming Services will be responsible for: (i) securing any third-party public performance or similar licenses that are not owned by Microsoft to the extent necessary to support the Eligible Streaming Service, whereas Microsoft will not invoke the existence of any third-party public performance or similar licenses that are not owned by Microsoft, if any, as a reason for seeking to invalidate the Streaming Provider License; and (ii) compliance with relevant laws, including the Digital Services Act, the GDPR, the e-Privacy Directive, and privacy standards. In the event an Eligible Streaming Service, showing a sufficient legitimate interest, claims that Microsoft is failing to comply with its obligations arising from the Commitments, the Fast-Track Dispute Resolution Procedure described in Annex 2 to the Commitments shall apply. In the event an Eligible Streaming Service breaches the terms of its license agreement with Microsoft, Microsoft shall inform the Eligible Streaming Service of that breach in writing. If the Eligible Streaming Service fails to comply with the terms of its license agreement within 30 days, Microsoft shall have the right to terminate the license agreement with the Eligible Streaming Service, following an opinion of the Monitoring Trustee and approval by the Commission. If the Eligible Streaming Service wishes to oppose Microsoft’s termination of its license agreement, the Fast-Track Dispute Resolution Procedure described in Annex 2 to the Commitments shall apply. The following definitions apply, as per the Commitments: “Authorized Game Store” includes a Microsoft Game Store or a third-party digital PC or console game store on which Microsoft distributes, including via a multi-game subscription service, Eligible Games after the Closing Date. “Monitoring Trustee” means one or more natural or legal persons who are approved by the Commission and appointed by Microsoft, and who have the duty to monitor Microsoft's compliance with the conditions and obligations attached to the Decision. “Eligible Games” include all current and future PC and console franchises, titles in these PC and console franchises, and any other PC and console games that (i) have been developed in the past or will be developed in the future, either in part or in full, by any of the Activision Blizzard Studios (as listed in Annex 1 of the Commitments); or (ii) are based, either in part or in full, on IP rights of any PC or console franchises, titles in these PC or console franchises, and any other PC or console games that Activision Blizzard Studios have developed in the past or will develop in the future. In case there are different versions of a PC game for different operating systems, each of these versions are Eligible Games. For the avoidance of doubt, the definition of Eligible Games further includes all additional content that is being made available for Eligible Games, such as add-ons, download content or in-game purchases. “Eligible Streaming Service” includes a Streaming Service which currently provides or intends to provide cloud game streaming services to Consumers, irrespective of the Streaming Service’s business model, and either: (i) is permitted by an Authorized Game Store to provide access to Eligible Games including Streaming Services that are granted access in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Commitments; or (ii) offers access to Eligible Games through applications which do not require integration with an Authorized Game Store, including by checking for a license via APIs. “Commitments” means the commitments entered into by Microsoft and made legally binding by the European Commission in its decision under Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) 139/2004 in case M. 10646 -Microsoft/Activision Blizzard. The full text of the Commitments can be found on the European Commission’s website (here). The summary of the Commitments is available in the European Commission’s press release, available here. “Commission” means the European Commission. “Consumers” include consumers based in the EEA who are licensed to play Eligible Games for their personal use pursuant to the Consumer License. “Streaming Service” includes a cloud game streaming service that allows Consumers to play, from the service provider’s cloud-based servers, PC or console games for which the Consumers have already obtained a license for the game (including through either buy-to-play, free-to-play, or subscription).