Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
When Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, the future of the Call of Duty franchise was one of the biggest question marks. Many worried that the company would make future installments in the blockbuster first-person shooter franchise exclusive to Xbox and Windows platforms. Among the concerned was PlayStation maker Sony, Microsoft’s primary competitor. After turning down Microsoft’s offer to keep Call of Duty games on PlayStation, Microsoft has announced a deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to its consoles over the next decade.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced the deal with Nintendo with a tweet on the evening of December 6, 2022.
In a follow-up tweet, Spencer confirmed that Microsoft will continue launching new Call of Duty games on Steam alongside Xbox.
Once Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard officially closes, we can expect to see future Call of Duty titles, like the rumored 2024 Treyarch game, appear on the Switch. With the companies inking a 10-year deal, we can also expect to play Call of Duty on the inevitable Switch successor.
This news comes less than a month after Microsoft said that it offered a similar deal to Sony to keep Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles, but the offer was turned down. This adds another wrinkle to the whole ordeal, and it’ll be interesting to see if the added pressure causes Sony to change its mind. We’ll be following the situation closely, so stick with Shacknews for the latest updates on the situation between Microsoft and Sony.