Microsoft’s 10-year deal with Nintendo for Call of Duty – Xbox is official

And now, via a tweet, company president Brad Smith make it known The two companies have signed a binding 10-year contract, confirming that Nintendo will have access to Activision Blizzard’s popular and hugely popular franchise with Xbox.

The official statement reads: “Microsoft and Nintendo have negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement that will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo gamers – on the same day as Xbox, with full parity in features and content.” “We are committed to providing equal long-term access to Call of Duty and other gaming platforms.” Microsoft previously announced that it had offered a similar deal with Sony for PlayStation consoles, with a commitment to offer the game on Steam at the same time as Xbox – provided, of course, that the merger is agreed to and completed.

All of the deals are part of Microsoft’s efforts to convince regulators to allow its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The deal is currently at a standstill as the US Federal Trade Commission has sued Microsoft to block the acquisition while the UK antitrust regulator may require Activision Blizzard to liquidate or sell parts of its business to allow the merger to proceed.

In addition, the European Commission, which is currently in consultations on this deal, is expected to align its decisions with the UK and mention that the acquisition could harm competition. To that end, Microsoft has reportedly requested a hearing with EU regulators to defend the deal — and that meeting is scheduled for today, according to the Reuters news agency.

The acquisition was initially met with strong resistance from regulators due to Sony’s concerns that Microsoft would keep Call of Duty exclusive to its own platform, denying Sony and PlayStation access to it, as well as other popular games. Sony strongly opposes the deal, calling it a “game changer and a threat to the gaming industry”. Microsoft said Sony’s comments only served its own interests and promised to support Call of Duty on PlayStation “indefinitely”.