Microsoft Signs Call Of Duty Deal With Nintendo Ahead Of EU Hearing

Microsoft signed a 10-year deal to release upcoming Call of Duty titles to Nintendo hardware. According to Reuters, the official agreement came just one day before Microsoft President Brad Smith met with EU antitrust regulators. 

The statement says the following: “Microsoft and Nintendo have now negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players – the same day as Xbox, with full feature and content parity – so they can experience Call of Duty just as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty. We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the gaming market.”The deal marks the first time Call of Duty will appear on Nintendo consoles since 2013.  The deal between Microsoft and Nintendo was announced by Xbox head Phil Spencer in December 2022; it’s now officially been signed on the dotted line.

Related: Microsoft Brings ‘Call of Duty’ Into Activision Merger Deal

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard, announced in January 2022, has had some run-ins with regulators.

The US FTC announced plans to block the merger in December on grounds of antitrust, arguing the deal “would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.” 

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the deal could harm UK gamers(Opens in a new tab), concluding that “Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers.