As Call of Duty has become the focal point for regulators scrutinising Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company decided to put all of its cards on the table, promising to keep the series multi-platform and even sending out 10-year agreements to Sony, Nintendo and even Valve to ensure the games remain available on non-Xbox devices. While Valve and Sony seemed to pass on the contract, Nintendo has signed.
Microsoft's Brad Smith revealed today that Nintendo and Microsoft have now signed “a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players the same day as Xbox”. The deal marks a huge turning point, as Call of Duty has historically skipped Nintendo consoles, especially over the last decade.
We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms. pic.twitter.com/JmO0hzw1BO
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 21, 2023
While the quote posted as an image on Twitter states Call of Duty, Smith's tweet simply says ‘Xbox games', indicating that perhaps Microsoft is willing to bring more of its franchises to multiple platforms.
Of course, this deal all hinges on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard being approved. Right now, there are no Call of Duty studios working on Nintendo platforms, so if the deal fails, it is unlikely that Activision will continue down this path on its own.
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KitGuru Says: Microsoft is having a big meeting with the European Commission today, by the end of which, we should have a final answer on which way the EU is leaning.