OnLive partners with BT in UK

OnLive has partnered with UK telecom company BT to bring its streaming service to the UK, the cloud gaming firm announced today. The service will be making its way to Europe via PC, Mac, and the OnLive MicroConsole. However, the company did not reveal a launch or pricing system for the service, which debuts in the US for $15 per month on June 17. Details on a UK beta will be available this summer after the full service launches in the US, where a beta has been running since last September.

As part of the deal, BT has taken a 2.6 percent share in OnLive, giving the telecom giant exclusive rights to bundle the service in its broadband packages. Those not using BT will be able to order the service direct from OnLive for use with their own ISPs. Gamers using OnLive in the UK and Europe will be able to take part in multiplayer matches together, though they will not be able to play against their US counterparts. However, the company says community features, such as chat, profiles, and brag clips, will work globally.

On the company's blog, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman revealed that a test site has been operating in the UK since 2009 from a BT data centre in Wales. The service has been tested in such countries as Italy, Scandinavia, and Spain. The company said it was pleased with the results of these tests, but it has not published the data relating to them.

Since its debut at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, OnLive has been praised by analysts who marked its arrival as "the beginning of the end" for games retail. This enthusiasm has been backed up by companies such as AT&T and Warner Brothers, who have invested heavily in the company. The service will distribute games from publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two, Warner Bros. Interactive, THQ, Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive, and Codemasters alongside their retail launches.