Microsoft has signed a legally “binding” 10-year agreement for Call of Duty to be available on Nintendo platforms, following a series of intense disputes across the industry.
There have been major concerns about Microsoft’s potential station and abilities following an acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard. So, it appears this legal agreement could bolster Microsoft’s position on the Call of Duty franchise. Here’s the full statement from Microsoft President Brad Smith:
Conceptually speaking, the agreement is a nice sentiment, and today’s announcement strategically notes that Nintendo players would not be denied any kind of content or launch date. It also adds that other Xbox games could be available on Nintendo’s platforms, too.
Unfortunately, it’s been a very long time since Nintendo users got the chance to play Call of Duty on their consoles. Naturally, it’d be great to experience Call of Duty on a Switch, or even on future Nintendo consoles. It would fit just fine with the mobility of the Switch, though its graphics likely wouldn’t be able to perform as well as the high-powered PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S.
This has undoubtedly been a complicated situation, and discourse has remained at a fever pitch throughout the process.
Many argue that there’s no true long-term guarantee for Microsoft to remain so altruistic, and that ownership could easily change the context of the deal. Microsoft is sort of selling a campaign to give Call of Duty more freedom. But it largely seems to come down to a matter of trust, and that may not be enough for their acquisition efforts to go through.
The new contract is a show of good faith ahead of Microsoft’s challenge from EU regulators, but that’s probably the full sum of its value at this time.
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