In an effort to help push its $69 billion dollar acquisition of Activision Blizzard through with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and various international authorities, Microsoft has announced a ten-year deal with Nintendo to make the “Call of Duty” franchise available on their platforms for the first time.
In addition, Microsoft has committed to continue offering “Call of Duty” titles on Valve’s Steam store at the same time as Xbox. Activision stopped making new entries in the franchise available on Steam several years ago but changed their stance with this year’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” – leading to the franchise’s most successful entry in many years with $1 billion in worldwide sales in the first ten days.
Of course, both of these deals are conditional on the merger with Activision closing. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, tweeted: “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play.”
Microsoft previously pledged to continue producing “Call of Duty” titles for Sony’s PlayStation console for a minimum of ten years if the Activision Blizzard deal is approved.
They add they are open to making that contract with Sony “legally enforceable by regulators in the U.S., U.K. and European Union.” Sony has not commented on said offer but has voiced opposition to the Activision takeover.
They have previously been saying the acquisition deal is expected to close in June 2023. However, that depends on various factors, including the FTC who is holding a closed meeting tomorrow to discuss the antitrust implications of the proposed deal.
U.S. regulators remain concerned that Microsoft could favor its own Xbox consoles for Activision Blizzard titles at the expense of rivals like Sony and Nintendo. The UK’s antitrust regulator is actively investigating whether the deal would reduce competition in the market.
Source: Variety
