Do you remember when Microsoft revealed that it had entered a 10-year commitment with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to its platforms? Well, apparently, it wasn't just a bluff - it's actually happening.
The news of the now legally-blinding agreement comes from Microsoft Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith. According to Smith, Microsoft and Nintendo have signed below the dotted line on a 10-year agreement that will see Call of Duty come to Nintendo platforms for at least a decade.
More importantly, the deal involves bringing upcoming Call of Duty games to both the Nintendo and Xbox platforms simultaneously, with the same features and content.
TLDR; it'll be much easier to play Call of Duty on the go going forward.
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
Unfortunately, Smith failed to mention when this will begin and which Call of Duty game is headed to Nintendo consoles first.
Most likely, it's not going to happen anytime soon. Nintendo is still heavily invested in the Switch, so we'll have to wait until at least the next Nintendo console comes out.
But, there's an alternative. The deal could take effect later this year when the next Call of Duty game by Sledgehammer Games is reportedly launching. However, it's a herculean task to bring full feature and content parity on the Switch since it's so much weaker compared to even the outgoing console models, the PS4 as well as the Xbox One. Another solution is to launch this year's Call of Duty game on the Switch as Cloud Versions.
Ultimately, we're betting on Microsoft waiting for Nintendo to launch its next console, which should come after it closes the Activision Blizzard buyout.
If nothing else, this deal should help persuade regulatory bodies to greenlight Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard.
As for Sony, don't expect the world's largest video game company to back down and agree with the acquisition, especially after the UK CMA just suggested excluding Call of Duty from the deal. However, if the mega-merger does push through, it is interesting to see what kind of deal Sony will strike with Microsoft as a concession for what's likely going to be an event that will alter the video game industry.
