Microsoftin an effort to get its mammoth acquisition of Activision Blizzardannounced a ten-year agreement con Nintendo to make available Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms – for the first time – following the merger with Activision. Let’s find out all the details together.
Call of Duty: Microsoft announces an agreement with Nintendo
Microsoft continues to offer the titles of Call of Duty by Activision on Steamat the same time as Xbox, following the closing of the Activision deal. Phil SpencerCEO of Microsoft Gaming, announcing the agreements for “COD” on Nintendo and Steam, said:
“Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people, however they choose to play.”.
Microsoft’s latest promises come after the software giant said it would continue making Call of Duty for the console PlayStation by Sony for a minimum of 10 years if agreement with Activision Blizzard is approved.
Microsoft is willing to make the 10-year contract with Sony “legally enforceable by regulators in the US, UK and European Union,” the Microsoft chairman wrote, Brad Smith.
Smith then stressed that the company “has made a similar commitment to the European Commission” to ensure access to key technologies to competitors when Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016. Sony did not comment Microsoft’s offer for Call of Duty, but expressed its own opposition to the acquisition of Activision.
Microsoft’s offer
In January, Microsoft announced its offering from 69 billion dollars for Activision Blizzard, which would become the largest acquisition ever in the video game industry. The companies said they expect to close the deal in June 2023.
The FTC is expected to discuss the antitrust implications of the proposed settlement by Microsoft per Activision Blizzard in a closed meeting on Thursday. The concern of the regulators is that Microsoft could favor the own Xbox consoles for Activision Blizzard titles at the expense of rivals such as Sony e Nintendo.
Call of Duty is Activision Blizzard’s best-selling game. According to Activision Blizzard, the latest installment in the first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIhe achieved one billion dollars in worldwide sales in the first 10 days following its October 28 release, breaking the previous 15-day record set in 2012 by Call of Duty: Black Ops II.