The waltz of promises no longer stops on Microsoft’s side. The giant is trying to validate its takeover of Activision Blizzard by once again promising the arrival of Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles.
Microsoft seems determined to validate its takeover of Activision Blizzard. The computer giant has just announced, through its vice-president Brad Smith, the signing of a contract of more than 10 years between Xbox and Nintendo. This historic contract between the two behemoths of the video game industry aims to guarantee the arrival of Call of Duty games on Nintendo, and this from the first day of their existence, for a decade. One more guarantee offered by the X brand of its goodwill regarding the ownership of major licenses in the video game industry.
We have now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendos 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
“Microsoft and Nintendo have negotiated and signed a 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo gamers on the same day as Xbox and with full feature and content parity – so they can experience Call of Duty the same way Xbox and PlayStation players do. We are committed to providing Call of Duty equal access to other gaming platforms over the long term, bringing more choice to players and more diversity to the video game market.“
A major revelation for the world of video games at a time when no Call of Duty game had been released on Nintendo consoles since Call of Duty Ghosts in 2013 (Wii U). Microsoft is therefore continuing its campaign as part of its gargantuan purchase of Activision-Blizzard, and is giving the hoped-for signals of oligopolism to close a merger announced almost a year ago. This announcement follows recent agreements between Sony and Microsoft to ensure the sustainability of the Call of Duty license (the last installment of which generated $800 million in three days, editor’s note) on Playstation consoles.
Although Nintendo products are not currently technologically cut out to accommodate the latest Call of Duty titles, it could be that the next console can. In which case such an agreement would be a major asset for the Japanese manufacturer. But today, we must not be mistaken, Xbox and Microsoft are above all trying to close the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by offering international commercial justice authorities guarantees of fair play with respect to platform exclusivity. major video game licenses. This contract with Nintendo will technically have no immediate effect, especially when we know that Japanese consoles are not at all capable of hosting Call of Duty games today.