Activision Blizzard to exclusively stream through YouTube in new partnership with Google

What you need to know

• Activision Blizzard and Google have announced a major new partnership.
• Google Cloud will provide the gaming infrastructure for further Activision Blizzard titles.
• Additionally, Activision Blizzard will exclusively stream events through YouTube, including OWL (Overwatch League).

In a press release, Activision Blizzard and Google announced a new partnership that will see Activision Blizzard stream exclusively through YouTube (except in China). This includes major broadcasts like the Overwatch League, Call of Duty League and Hearthstone Esports. This partnership will also see Google Cloud providing the game hosting infrastructure for Activision Blizzard titles.

"We've worked closely with Activision Blizzard for the past few years across mobile titles to boost its analytics capabilities and overall player experience," said Sunil Rayan, Head of Gaming at Google Cloud. "We are excited to now expand our relationship and help power one of the largest and most renowned game developers in the world."

Another aspect of this partnership is built around offering "optimal personalized interactions" as Google Cloud's toolset will see Activision Blizzard "offer curated recommendations for in-game offers and differentiated gaming experiences."

"We're excited to partner with Google to drive the next generation of gaming innovation for the industry. Google Cloud's best-in-class infrastructure gives us the confidence to deliver great entertainment to our fans around the world," said Jacques Erasmus, Chief Information Officer at Activision Blizzard.

Despite this new agreement, the press release made no mention of Activision Blizzard supporting Stadia, Google's own game streaming platform. Activision Blizzard is the parent company of Activision and Blizzard Entertainment, who produce major titles such as the Call of Duty franchise, Overwatch, Diablo and more. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the best-selling game of 2019 in the U.S, per NPD.