Microsoft signs 10-year deal to bring Xbox games to Nintendo
Microsoft has signed a 10-year deal to bring Xbox games to Nintendo players, which means you'll soon be able to play Call of Duty on Switch.
The finalised deal was announced on Tuesday by Microsoft president Brad Smith, who posted on Twitter.
"We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers," Smith's statement read. "This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms."
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Smith said gamers will be able to "experience Call of Duty just as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty."
As IGN points out, Call of Duty has not been released on a Nintendo console since Call of Duty: Ghosts was released on Wii U in 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. Details on release dates for Xbox titles on Switch are yet to be announced.
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Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard, announced in January 2022, has made some waves shall we say with regulators.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (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." Meanwhile, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the deal could harm UK gamers, concluding that "Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers."
This has included a closely watched debate over Call of Duty itself, and whether Microsoft would keep the games available to play on PlayStation. When the merger was announced, Spencer confirmed "our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation."
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
