Microsoft has officially entered into a “10-year commitment” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer shared the news on Twitter along with confirming that Microsoft will continue to offer Call of Duty titles on Steam after the deal closes as well.
I’m also pleased to confirm Microsoft’s commitment to continuing to deliver Call of Duty on @steam simultaneously to Xbox after we closed the merger with Activision Blizzard King. ATVI_AB @employee
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 7, 2022
The last time a major Call of Duty title appeared on a Nintendo Console was 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, which made its way to the Wii U. Since then, Nintendo owners have been left behind when it comes to one of the world’s best-selling game franchises. all time.
In October 2022, Spencer said he would “love” seeing Call of Duty on Switch and that Xbox’s intention was to “treat Call of Duty like Minecraft.” It looks as though that plan is now in the works.
This news comes at a time when a lot of eyes are on the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal and when many are focused on what this merger means for the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation. Spencer has stated that Call of Duty will ship on PlayStation ‘as long as there is a PlayStation to ship’, and there have been reports that Microsoft has offered a similar 10-year deal to Sony to keep the franchise on the platform.
Call of Duty is one of the hottest topics in this deal, as some worry that other similar AAA titles will tip the scales if they’re locked onto a single platform. Microsoft has disputed these claims, with many of its comments appearing publicly.
“We will continue to track Sony and Tencent in the market after the deal is closed, and Activision and Xbox together will benefit gamers and developers and make the industry more competitive,” said David Cody, a Microsoft spokesperson.
The Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal is currently being reviewed by the FTC and regulators in Europe and the UK. Both parties have until July 2023 to close the deal or they will have to renegotiate the agreement.
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Adam Pankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @employee and on twitch.
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