If the Activision merger is approved, Microsoft guarantees the games on Nintendo hardware for 10 years.
In the face of heavy opposition from both competitors and regulatory bodies, Microsoft has been taking multiple avenues to assure the gaming sector at large of the viability of their potential merger deal with major game publisher Activision Blizzard. Their latest move is ensuring the proper proliferation of the Call of Duty series, a major sticking point for the merger’s critics, and get it in writing.
This morning, ahead of a new meeting with European Union business regulators, Microsoft announced that they had inked a legally-binding deal with game industry competitor Nintendo to ensure Call of Duty games come to their systems.
“Microsoft and Nintendo have now negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players — the same days as Xbox, with full feature and content parity,” Microsoft wrote in a statement. “We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms.”
“We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers,” Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith added on the tweet announcing the deal. “This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms.”
