Microsoft & Nintendo strike a 10-year cross-platform Call of Duty deal

Microsoft says that it has signed a 10-year deal with Nintendo that will see Xbox games be released on Nintendo's consoles. The move comes as Microsoft's attempted buyout of Activision Blizzard continues to cause concerns among antitrust agencies around the world.

Some are concerned that Microsoft owning Activision Blizzard could mean that flagship games like Call of Duty would become Xbox exclusives. But this deal would ensure that wouldn't be the case, with Microsoft also keen to sign a similar one with Sony and PlayStation.

Confirmation of the deal came when president Brad Smith took to Twitter to confirm that a deal had been signed, adding that it shows the company's commitment to ensuring Activision games like Call of Duty are available "to more players on more platforms."

Microsoft continues to try to find a way for it to be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard, but it isn't easy going. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has already suggested that Microsoft should strike Activision and Call of Duty from its buyout plans. In the United States, the FTC has already filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prevent Microsoft's buyout from completing.

The deal was originally announced in December 2022 and would see Microsoft hand over $69 billion. But it's increasingly clear that this isn't a deal that will be done easily, especially as Sony and PlayStation appear less than keen on agreeing to a deal similar to the one Nintendo just signed.

Another interesting point about today's announcement is that there hasn't actually been a Call of Duty game on a Nintendo platform since 2013 and there has never been one on the Nintendo Switch. Could this deal suggest that a new Nintendo console is in the works? One more capable of powering a AAA game like the ones produced by the Call of Duty franchise?

Time will tell.