The promise seemed crazy and of the order of a joke. Now it is a reality. The Call of Duty license will return to Nintendo consoles, starting with Switch. A ten-year binding contract has been signed between Microsoft and the Japanese manufacturer.
A contract ratified in a few weeks
This proposal was made as part of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Faced with various competition authorities concerned about a possible imbalance in the video game landscape, the American manufacturer of Xbox had made several concessions.
The main fears centered on the famous Call of Duty shooter license. Taking the franchise back in its bag, the risk of an exclusive release of the next few episodes on Xbox consoles made Sony, the maker of the PlayStation, break a cold sweat.
To put an end to the debate, Microsoft has been repeating since the beginning of 2022 and the announcement of its acquisition of Activision that PlayStation gamers would not be deprived of these ultra-popular games. But in December, the American company hit the nail on the head by promising that Call of Duty titles would now be available on Nintendo Switch and the Steam platform (for PC players).
In the sights of the regulatory authorities of the European, American and British markets, Microsoft tried to reassure. But the promise of bringing famous shooters to Nintendo gamers has been taken very seriously. So much so that it only took a few weeks to ratify the case.
In December, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, expressed confidence in Activision’s acquisition of Blizzard King. However, in February 2023, the United Kingdom opposed this acquisition. British authorities believe that the merger of the two video game giants would form too powerful a whole in the industry.
Source: BFM TV
