Microsoft signs a 10-year deal to bring future Xbox games, including Call of Duty, to Nintendo

Microsoft president Brad Smith has announced that the company has signed a 10-year deal to bring Xbox games – including Call of Duty once acquired – to Nintendo players.

The signed deal means Microsoft honors its promise to the Federal Trade Commission that it will make Call of Duty available to other platform companies like Nintendo if the $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard is approved.

Smith said in a tweet, “This is just part of our commitment to bringing Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms.”

The binding agreement means that Nintendo players will receive the games on the same day as Xbox, with full functionality and content parity, so they can experience Call of Duty as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty.

Microsoft said it is committed to providing equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms over the long term. The FTC has sued Microsoft over potential antitrust claims, and Microsoft has yet to strike a similar deal with Sony, which is trying to get regulators to quash the deal.

The feature parity claim is interesting because I think it means Microsoft will be bringing the game to a new Nintendo console that hasn’t been announced yet, as such a machine could run the full Call of Duty game. I believe the Nintendo Switch is not capable of running the full Call of Duty.

I think the wording is very careful. Microsoft said it’s bringing the games to Nintendo gamers, but it didn’t specifically say it’s bringing games to the Switch.