Microsoft has entered a 10-year deal with Nintendo to release “Call of Duty” (CoD) on Nintendo devices if the Activision Blizzard merger goes through.
Microsoft announced on Tuesday that if its $69 billion takeover of the game’s developer, Activision Blizzard, is completed, it would bring the popular video game brand Call of Duty to Nintendo systems.
Call of Duty, an enduring brand in which players engage in combat in the past, present, and future, is Activision’s flagship product. It has brought in more than $30 billion in revenue for the company.
Antitrust authorities from all around the world are currently investigating Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, the biggest consumer technology transaction since AOL acquired Time Warner in 2000. Microsoft and Nintendo’s agreement may help allay concerns about the deal’s antitrust implications.
According to Bloomberg, Microsoft officials are meeting with USFTC chair Lina Khan as well as other members this week to present their final justification for the deal’s approval.
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Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted, “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. Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on @Steam simultaneously to Xbox.”
The action is being taken as Microsoft awaits the FTC’s regulatory review of its proposed merger, which has been vigorously contested by Sony, the rival manufacturer of the PlayStation console, who thinks that the possibility of Call of Duty becoming exclusively available on Microsoft platforms would provide the company an unfair competitive advantage in the video game industry.
Regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom have launched antitrust investigations into the transaction to determine whether it will harm competition. The EU is worried that Microsoft would deny competitors access to titles like Call of Duty. Microsoft has made assurances related to Call of Duty in an effort to allay concerns this week.
The company claims that the Activision acquisition will benefit players and boost industry competition. According to reports, the FTC is likely to approve the acquisition. Previously, Microsoft and Activision stated that they anticipated the agreement to be signed before the mid of 2023.
International regulators assessing the deal have frequently questioned if Call of Duty, one of Blizzard’s most popular titles, will be made inaccessible to PlayStation fans.
Microsoft has consistently assured authorities that the series would remain available on all current platforms, which at the moment include Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, and claimed that stopping PlayStation publication would be fiscally irresponsible.
Microsoft president Brad Smith had earlier this week announced that Microsoft had made a 10-year deal with Sony to make future Call of Duty games available on the PlayStation.
Sony has protested Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, claiming that doing so would limit the options available to players. Microsoft’s initial proposal to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation for “several more years” was rejected by Sony as “inadequate on many levels.”
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