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Microsoft President Brad Smith says it's a 'good day for gamers' after Nintendo, Nvidia deals

BRUSSELS — Microsoft said Tuesday it will bring its Xbox PC games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, after the chipmaker had reportedly expressed opposition to a major Microsoft gaming deal.

The announcement comes after Microsoft President Brad Smith met with European Union officials on Tuesday in a bid to convince them that its planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be good for competition.

Microsoft is offering the olive branch to stop the takeover from being blocked and thereby expand its gaming unit, which represents 9% of its total revenue. While sales of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles are slowing down, the company has been drawing on its cash pile to expand the collection of games it can sell and allow people to play through its cloud data centers.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said at a press conference that, effective immediately, its Xbox games will be available on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud games service. Smith said if the Activision deal closes, it will bring all Activision Blizzard titles to GeForce Now.

Nvidia is now on board with Microsoft’s pending deal for regulatory purposes, the two companies said in a joint statement confirming the two companies 10-year deal. In January Bloomberg reported that Nvidia had gone to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission with complaints about the Activision deal.

“Combining the incredibly rich catalog of Xbox first party games with GeForce Now’s high-performance streaming capabilities will propel cloud gaming into a mainstream offering that appeals to gamers at all levels of interest and experience,” Jeff Fisher, Nvidia’s senior vice president for GeForce, was quoted as saying. “Through this partnership, more of the world’s most popular titles will now be available from the cloud with just a click, playable by millions more gamers.”

Microsoft proposed its Activision Blizzard acquisition in January 2022, but since then, the buyer has faced pushback from regulators in the U.S., European Union and U.K.

The Nvidia arrangement is meaningful because “now we’re addressing the full range of issues that have been raised by regulators as topics of not just interest but in some cases concern,” Smith said at the press conference.

In November, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, opened an in-depth investigation into the deal citing concerns that it could reduce competition in the video games market.

Activision Blizzard is the company behind popular game franchise Call of Duty. The EU commission said last year it is concerned that Microsoft could block access to the game on other platforms if the deal goes through.

The commission is also concerned that it could give Microsoft an unfair edge in the nascent area of cloud gaming. Microsoft has a service called Game Pass through which it charges gamers $9.99 per month to access a library of games. The Activision takeover would add some high-profile titles to Game Pass.

Nvidia’s GeForce Now has over 25 million members, while Microsoft said last year that 25 million people subscribe to Game Pass. Nvidia offers free and paid GeForce Now tiers, although high resolution is only available to those who pay. Members of GeForce Now will be able to stream through the cloud the games they buy through Microsoft’s app store, along with games listed in Epic Games and Steam’s app stores.

In December, Microsoft said it had “entered into a 10-year commitment” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo when the Activision acquisition closes. The announcement was seen as a move to assuage regulators’ antitrust concerns. On Tuesday, Smith tweeted that the two signs have now signed a “binding 10-year legal agreement” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players on the same day as Microsoft’s Xbox, “with full feature and content parity.”

Smith declined to comment on the views of the European Commission in the hearing, but said the Nintendo and Nvidia deals are good for competition in the gaming market.

“I think if you’re a competition regulator, and you’re focused on the interests of consumers and competition, today was a good day,” Smith told CNBC.

Microsoft hopes for Sony deal

Smith on Tuesday led a delegation that included Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, Reuters reported, citing a European Commission document that the news agency had seen. Sony’s gaming chief Jim Ryan was also in attendance, Reuters added. Sony, Microsoft’s biggest rival, opposes the Activision takeover.

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Sony was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Smith held up a piece of paper saying it is an agreement he is ready to send to Sony.

Smith told CNBC that Microsoft is offering Sony the same agreement as Nintendo — to have Call of Duty available on the PlayStation the same time as Xbox with the same features. However, Sony still remains opposed to the deal.

“I live with the hope that we’ll come to terms with Sony,” Smith told CNBC.

“We’re not there yet. But I do think as we make progress with others, if we can get a deal done with Nintendo, if we can get an agreement with Nvidia, it should provide a path forward that others like Sony can build on as well.”

U.K., U.S. regulators take aim at deal

It’s not only European regulators that have concerns about the deal.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said this month that the takeover raises competition concerns and may result in higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation. The regulator said it could move to block the deal and suggested several remedies Microsoft could take. One of those involved Microsoft divesting the business responsible for Call of Duty.

Smith said that Microsoft doesn’t see a “feasible path” to sell off the Call of Duty game.

“It just isn’t something that seems to be lining up,” Smith told CNBC.

“The only reason to sell it off is the CMA’s potential concern that if we buy it, we won’t provide it to others as broadly. I think that concern should be dispelled by the two agreements we’ve signed today.”

In December, the FTC filed an antitrust case against Microsoft attempting to block the Activision deal.

Google parent Alphabet also went to the FTC with dissatisfaction about Microsoft’s deal, Bloomberg reported.

“The European Commission asked for our views in the course of their inquiries into this issue. We will continue to cooperate in any processes, when requested, to ensure all views are considered,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC in an email.

Smith declined to comment on Alphabet’s exact concerns with the Activision deal but recognized the company’s potential misgivings.

“It’s easy to understand that Google might have questions about whether something like Call of Duty would be available in the future on say Chromebooks and the Chrome operating system,” Smith said.

The Nvidia agreement addresses that as the GeForce Now cloud gaming service is available on ChromeOS, Smith said. Microsoft is able to maintain compliance with the sorts agreements with European regulators that might require it to keep Call of Duty on Chrome OS, he said during the press conference.

“With the agreement we’ve done with Nvidia, we’ve just ensured Google will benefit as well,” Smith said.

Microsoft has maintained that its takeover of Activision Blizzard would not harm competition in video gaming and instead increase competition against large players like Sony and Chinese giant Tencent.

Microsoft has remained behind the likes of Sony and Nintendo in the video-gaming business. Microsoft’s Xboxes have lagged Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Nintendo’s Switch. Sony and Nintendo’s popularity has come from its large number of successful first-party games. Microsoft is looking to boost its games library with the Activision acquisition.

Activision Blizzard shares edged up during Tuesday’s U.S. trading session following the announcement.

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UK loses bid to keep Apple appeal against demand for iPhone ‘backdoor’ a secret

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UK loses bid to keep Apple appeal against demand for iPhone 'backdoor' a secret

Chief Executive of Apple, Tim Cook gives a thumb’s up during a tour the Apple Headquarters on December 12, 2024 in London, England. 

Chris Jackson | Getty Images

Apple has triumphed over an effort from the U.K. government to keep details secret of its appeal against an order to create a “backdoor” to iPhone users’ data.

The U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal on Monday published a ruling dismissing the government’s attempt to prevent details from a hearing on the appeal from being made public. The government had tried to keep the information secret on the grounds it posed risks to national security.

Judges Rabinder Singh and Judge Jeremy Johnson said in their ruling that the U.K. government’s request to keep details of the hearing private “would be the most fundamental interference with the principle of open justice.”

“It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place,” they said.

Britain’s Home Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

‘Backdoor’ to encrypted data

The ruling relates to an appeal made by Apple against a demand from the U.K. government to allow officials to access iPhone users’ encrypted data via a technical “backdoor.”

This backdoor would allow the government to access information secured by Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system, which applies end-to-end encryption to a wide range of iCloud data.

Governments in the U.S., U.K. and EU have long expressed dissatisfaction with end-to-end encryption, arguing it enables criminals, terrorists and sex offenders to conceal illicit activity.

In the U.K., the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016 empowers the government to compel tech companies to weaken their encryption technologies through so-called “backdoors” — a heavily controversial policy for both the tech industry and privacy campaigners.

Apple — which is known for its pro-privacy stance — has pushed back on efforts to weaken its encryption tools, saying this would undermine its security and put users at risk.

As a result of the government’s order, Apple withdrew its ADP system for U.K. users in February. In a blog post at the time, the tech giant said it has “never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will.”

“We are deeply disappointed that our customers in the UK will no longer have the option to enable Advanced Data Protection (ADP), especially given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” Apple said in the post.

“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and we are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom.”

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Tech stocks whipsaw in volatile trading session as Trump stands by tariffs

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Tech stocks whipsaw in volatile trading session as Trump stands by tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk reacts on the day of a rally in support of a conservative state Supreme Court candidate of an April 1 election in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. March 30, 2025. 

Vincent Alban | Reuters

Technology stocks teetered in volatile trading Monday as President Donald Trump stood by his sweeping global tariff plans following last week’s devastating selloff.

The Magnificent Seven stocks — Nvidia, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet — were largely lower after briefly rallying amid a short-lived broader market attempt to stage a rebound. Stocks temporarily jumped on speculation of a possibly delay in the tariffs, but the White House later dismissed talk of a pause.

The technology sector is coming off a brutal week. The Magnificent Seven stocks collectively shed more than $1.8 trillion in market value during a two-day market selloff, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst week since the onslaught of the pandemic and entered a bear market.

Read more CNBC tech news

Trump held firm on his aggressive global tariffs plans over the weekend, with an initial unilateral 10% tariff going into effect Saturday. Wall Street hoped for progress on negotiations between the administration and other countries or news of a possible delay in reciprocal tariffs slated for April 9.

The plan has already received widespread backlash in corporate America. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Monday that the new levies will hike prices on domestic and imported goods and pressure the slowing U.S. economy. Many car companies have already announced a pause in shipments, price hikes and other measures. Trade groups have also warned of higher prices at the grocery store and hikes on electronics such as personal computers.

“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, downplaying the recent market meltdown.

Other technology stocks also looked to build on last week’s pain. Oracle and Palantir Technologies declined more than 2% each.

Some semiconductor stocks also struggled as investors fretted over potential demand destruction stemming from the tariffs. Advanced Micro Devices was last down about 4% each, while Intel declined more than 2%.

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Nintendo President Doug Bowser on the new Switch 2, tariffs and what’s next for the gaming giant

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Nintendo President Doug Bowser on the new Switch 2, tariffs and what's next for the gaming giant

Nintendo on Wednesday unveiled details for the Switch 2. It’ll include a bigger screen and controllers and is a faster version than its predecessor, which sold more than 150 million units since its 2017 release.

The Switch 2 will hit store shelves on June 5 for $449.99, up from $300 for the original Switch. Like the first Switch, gamers will be able to use the Switch 2 as both a handheld console and hook it up to a television. Nintendo on Friday said it would delay preorders for the device following President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.”

The device will launch with the game “Mario Kart World.” Other games coming for the Switch 2 include “Donkey Kong Bananza,” “Street Fighter 6,” “The Duskbloods” and “Kirby Air Riders.”

Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser sat down with technology correspondent Steve Kovach in a CNBC exclusive interview after unveiling the new console’s details. Bowser touched on the technology boosts in the Switch 2, upcoming games, the future of Nintendo’s efforts in film and entertainment beyond video games, and what Trump’s new tariffs mean for console prices in the U.S.

Watch the video for the full interview.

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