Microsoft and Nintendo Agree 10-Year Call of Duty Deal

The last game in the Call of Duty franchise on Nintendo consoles was Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Wii U in 2013. After a decade-long absence, Microsoft has agreed on a 10-year deal with Nintendo to bring the hit FPS series to the Nintendo Switch and future consoles. 

With Call of Duty at the center of Microsoft's controversial purchase of Activision-Blizzard-King, this new deal with Nintendo is a statement of intent from Microsoft. As such, the creators of the Xbox are guaranteeing that despite their purchase of the franchise, they are "providing long-term equal access to Call of Duty to other platforms". As US and EU lawmakers open antitrust cases against Microsoft due to the upcoming acquisition, the publisher claims the deal will, in fact, "add competition to the gaming market."

 

PlayStation reportedly turned down a similar 10-year deal for Call of Duty in late 2022, however, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer told the Same Brain podcast that "as long as there is a PlayStation out there to ship to", then the Call of Duty franchise will continue to release on Sony consoles. Today, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith reiterated his offer to Sony (via @PostUp_bbb): "a 10-year agreement, legally binding", and when a new Call of Duty game releases on Xbox it "will be available on Sony PlayStation on the same day, on the same terms, with the same features."

In 2020 discussions between Nintendo and Microsoft over the future of Call of Duty were underway, but Brad Smith confirms the two industry giants have come to a binding legal agreement. On the deal, Smith declared that this is a "part of [Microsoft's] commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms."

 

Alex Johnson (@AlexJohnWriting)
News Editor, NoobFeed