Microsoft has officially entered into a “10-year commitment” to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer shared the news on Twitter alongside confirming Microsoft will continue to offer Call of Duty titles on Steam after the deal has closed as well.
I’m also pleased to confirm that Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on @Steam simultaneously to Xbox after we have closed the merger with Activision Blizzard King. @ATVI_AB @ValveSoftware
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 7, 2022
The last time a mainline Call of Duty title was 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 best-selling game franchises of all time.
In October 2022, Spencer said he’d “love” to see Call of Duty on Switch and that the Xbox’s intention is to “treat Call of Duty like Minecraft.” It looks as though now that plan is in motion.
This news comes at a time when many 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’s a PlayStation to ship to,’ and reports have come out saying 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 it and other similar AAA titles will tip the scales if they are locked to one platform. Microsoft has disputed these claims, with many of its comments coming out publicly.
“We’ll still trail Sony and Tencent in the market after the deal closes, and together Activision and Xbox will benefit gamers and developers and make the industry more competitive,” Microsoft spokesperson David Cuddy said.
The Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal is currently being reviewed by the FTC and regulators in Europe and the UK. The two parties have until July 2023 to close the deal or they will have to renegotiate the agreement.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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