Microsoft Signs 10-Year Deal to Bring Call of Duty to Nintendo

Microsoft has announced that they have signed a binding 10-year contract with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players the same day as Xbox.

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith took to Twitter to announce the deal earlier today, saying that this new deal is “just part of [Microsoft’s] commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms.”

As part of the deal, Nintendo players will be able to enjoy Call of Duty "just as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty.” The full statement reads:

"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 news follows Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition deal of Activision Blizzard King, which has faced heavy resistance from the US Federal Trade Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK. The concerns have been centered largely on the deal harming competition for gaming consoles and subscription services, as well as cloud gaming.

Call of Duty has been largely absent from Nintendo consoles for a number of years. The last release to hit Nintendo consoles was Call of Duty: Ghosts for Wii U back in 2013.