Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, has built up a strong library of games since the service launched in beta in 2019 (Game Pass itself launched in 2017). But now we have an interesting development as Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has arrived on Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is a huge deal, so let’s go over why it matters so much.
The First Of The Activision Blizzard Games:
Let’s start with the most important part, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is the first Activision Blizzard game which is available in the cloud via Xbox Cloud Gaming. However, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call Of Duty: Warzone are both on Nvidia GeForce NOW and Diablo 4 is also on Nvidia GeForce NOW and PlayStation Cloud Gaming, the latter being a direct competitor to Xbox. However, this Crash Bandicoot game isn’t the first Activision Blizzard game within the Game Pass ecosystem, as Diablo 4 and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are on Game Pass for console and PC but aren’t available on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a notable title as the game compilation is based on one of the most iconic trilogies of 1990’s classic 3D platforming games. However, Crash Bandicoot is a smaller IP than the likes of Call Of Duty, which could be to Microsoft’s benefit.
Why This Is Exciting:
Okay now comes the ugly part: due to an agreement Microsoft made with the UK CMA and the European Commission, the cloud gaming rights to all Activision Blizzard games within the European Economic Area are controlled by French game publisher Ubisoft. Microsoft had to sell these rights to be granted a greenlight to acquire Activision Blizzard games, which is why until recently, the few Activision Blizzard games we’ve seen come to Game Pass have omitted releases on Xbox Cloud Gaming as they require a fee to be paid to Ubisoft.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy makes perfect sense to be the first Activision Blizzard game to come to Xbox Cloud Gaming because Crash Bandicoot is a well-known IP, and it’s a smaller scale game than, say, the next Call Of Duty, which means the license required to be paid to Ubisoft is most probably lower. This is the perfect game to test the waters and see how big the demand is for other Activision Blizzard games on Xbox Cloud Gaming. If I were to hedge a bet, I would say we will probably see other smaller-scale Activision Blizzard games such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and other Crash Bandicoot games come to Xbox Cloud Gaming before we see something bigger like Diablo or Call Of Duty.
Final Thoughts:
It’s great to see new games come to Xbox Cloud Gaming, especially since it is arguably one of the largest cloud gaming platforms on the market. It’s also nice to see the first Activision Blizzard cloud game isn’t another FPS game, but instead a remaster of three classic platforming games. Hopefully, this is only the beginning and over the next year or so we will see the library of Activision Blizzard games on Xbox Cloud Gaming slowly expand as the libraries of Activision and Blizzard are sub-licensed from Ubisoft for the Xbox Cloud Gaming platform.
