Microsoft Formalizes 10-Year Commitment To Bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo

Update: Microsoft pledged to bring the Call Of Duty franchise to Nintendo consoles in December 2022, and now they’ve made good on their promise, signing a deal that ensures Nintendo gamers will get their full Call of Duty fix for the next decade — if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is approved. Microsoft company president Brad Smith officially announced the deal via a tweeted statement, and noted that Nintendo Call of Duty games would have “full feature and content parity” with other systems. “We are committed to providing long-term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the gaming market,” Smith’s statement also read.

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

The announcement comes at a fortuitous time for Microsoft, who has come under regulatory fire for their pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with government officials in the US and UK expressing fears about a monopoly if the deal were to go through. Microsoft is due in European Comission court next week to face antitrust aligations, with a final decision set to be made by the EU court in April. UK regulators have suggested that Microsoft drop Activision and the Call of Duty franchise from its acquisition plans, and Microsoft is facing a pending case in the US, where the FTC has sued the company in an attempt to block the deal.

With all the legalese surrounding the pending acquisition, Microsoft’s recent move is seen by some as an attempt to placate regulators, showing them that their fears of a monopoly are unfounded. In November 2022, a report from the New York Times indicated that Microsoft had offered the same 10-year Call of Duty commitment to Sony that it had to Nintendo, though Sony did not comment on the matter.

Look for new Call of Duty titles to release on Nintendo platforms in the future, read the original story below for more info and stay tuned for more news on the pending acquisition as it’s made available.

Original Story: Microsoft is committed to bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo, both on current consoles and on future hardware. The tech giant has officially declared that it will offer Call of Duty on Nintendo for the next ten years, given that its Activision Blizzard merger successfully closes.

“Microsoft has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer announced on Twitter. “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play.”

The ten-year commitment most likely means that Call of Duty will roll out on Switch, followed by further iterations of the console, as well as any other gaming devices Nintendo debuts down the line.

Spencer went on to say that Call of Duty will continue to be offered simultaneously on Steam and Xbox.

As of right now, Microsoft’s Blizzard acquisition is still in the air. The Federal Trade Commission is expected to meet on Thursday to discuss whether they’ll make moves to curb the deal. The FTC is allegedly concerned that the merger would give Microsoft too much control over the market.

In other gaming news, a new Elden Ring update sees multiplayer colosseum battles.