Microsoft is now officially entering a "10-year commitment" to bring Call of Duty titles to Nintendo consoles, along with continuing to offer games from the biggest FPS franchise to Steam.
Following the announcement of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced that Microsoft is "committed to helping bring more games to more people — however they choose to play." This 10-year commitment extends to Nintendo consoles, despite the last Call of Duty entry being Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U back in 2013.
Microsoft has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to @Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King. Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play. @ATVI_ABDecember 7, 2022
The Microsoft Gaming CEO also states that the company is also committed to keeping Call of Duty on Steam after the merger with Activision Blizzard has closed, meaning it won't just be available on Xbox platforms on PC.
While Xbox will own Call of Duty, Microsoft has also stated it will continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation, with the company also offering a 10-year deal to PlayStation. According to a report from The New York Times, Sony declined to comment on the offer, but Spencer claims the FPS series will continue to ship on PlayStation "as long as there's a PlayStation to ship to."
In September, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan stated that Microsoft's offer to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three more years is inadequate. Clearly, PlayStation wants to keep Call of Duty for as long as possible, especially after Modern Warfare 2 saw the biggest PSN launch of all time in the CoD series (via GamesRadar).
Currently, the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard $68.7 billion merger is being reviewed by the FTC. The deal is set to close in July 2023, but if the deal officially goes through, expect a few changes.
More Call of Duty coming to Nintendo Switch?
This announcement follows Spencer stating he would "love to see" Call of Duty on the Nintendo Switch, during the Wall Street Journal Live event (via The Verge's Tom Warren). With this in mind, there's reason to believe we'll eventually see a Call of Duty title come to the Nintendo Switch.
The latest entry, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, is already out in the wild, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility that a Switch port is in the works. What's more, Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 could be another contender for bringing a Call of Duty game to the Nintendo Switch.
With Call of Duty reportedly taking a break in 2023, it's hard to tell when another entry will come to the Switch. However, Activision reached out to IGN stating that there is an "exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year, and beyond." This could mean something may be in the mix for Nintendo.
For now, only time will tell. Having a Call of Duty title finally come back to Nintendo is sure to attract fans. In meantime, check out the best Nintendo Switch games to play right now.
