Microsoft has taken a big step in taking its games beyond its own ecosystem of consoles. Xbox will launch its games and those of Activision Blizzard (if Microsoft’s purchase of the company comes to fruition, of course) on Nintendo platforms. Is about an agreement that will link both firms for the next decade, and has been announced by the vice president of MicrosoftBrad Smith.
We just signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo gamers. This is just one part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms.
We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms. pic.twitter.com/JmO0hzw1BO
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 21, 2023
And continues:
Microsoft and Nintendo have negotiated and signed a 10-year binding legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo gamers on the same day as Xbox gamers, with the same features and content parity, so they can enjoy Call of Duty. just like Xbox and PlayStation gamers. We are committed to providing the same access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms in the long term, offering more choice to more players and more competition to the video game market.
This is the corroboration of an announcement that Microsoft already made at the end of last year where was committed to just this: to bring their own titles and those of Activision Blizzard to Nintendo consoles as soon as the purchase is closed. Does this mean that the notable complications the company is encountering to get the purchase off the ground are nearing an end, or is it a reminder of its future intent? In any case, a meeting of Phil Spencer, Jim Ryan, Bobby Kotick and representatives of Nvidia and Google with the European Commission is scheduled for today.
This announcement may be a way for Microsoft to confirm that there will not be a monopoly of the franchise on the company’s consoles, but that the intention is for them to continue to be multiplatform, and even reach devices from which they have been decades away. In any case, it would be excellent news for users of Nintendo consoles, who have not enjoyed a ‘Call of Duty’ since ‘Ghosts’ for WiiU in 2013. And even more: will exclusive Xbox titles such as ‘Halo’ ever be seen? Or the ‘Forza Motorsport’ versions for Switch, or are we only talking about multiplatform flagships like ‘Call of Duty`?