Call of Duty gained a fresh lease of life on Wednesday after Microsoft entered into a 10-year commitment to bring the gaming title to Nintendo platforms, the chief executive officer of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday. The development will bring the popular gaming title from Activision Blizzard to Nintento game consoles.
I’m also pleased to confirm that Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on @Steam simultaneously to Xbox after we have closed the merger with Activision Blizzard King. @ATVI_AB @ValveSoftware
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 7, 2022
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The announcement comes after Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of the “Call of Duty” maker raised concern among regulators that the deal could stifle competition, with rival Sony Group Corp criticising the deal and even calling for a regulatory veto.
Microsoft President Brad Smith tweeted: “Our acquisition will bring Call of Duty to more gamers and more platforms than ever before … Any day @Sony wants to sit down and talk, we’ll be happy to hammer out a 10-year deal for PlayStation as well.”
Our acquisition will bring Call of Duty to more gamers and more platforms than ever before. That’s good for competition and good for consumers. Thank you @Nintendo. Any day @Sony wants to sit down and talk, we’ll be happy to hammer out a 10-year deal for PlayStation as well. https://t.co/m1IQxdeo6n
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) December 7, 2022
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Earlier this year, Sony’s gaming chief Jim Ryan called an offer by Microsoft to keep the “Call of Duty” series on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement “inadequate”.
“I think this is an attempt by Microsoft to pressure Sony into signing a deal with Activision and to make it easier for Microsoft to finish and close the deal with Activision,” said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.
“It’s basically good PR for Microsoft.”
Microsoft competes with Sony and Nintendo in the global video game industry, which saw strong growth in recent years with people spending more time at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The inquisition of the popular first-person shooter series
(With inputs from agencies)
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