Microsoft commits to bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo for 10 years

In October 2022, Microsoft Head of Gaming Phil Spencer issued a bold statement: that he would love to see the iconic Call of Duty series launch for Nintendo Switch in future, as part of a Microsoft-led refresh of the series. This depended on the complete acquisition of Activision Blizzard – and may actually go ahead, with Spencer now claiming a ten-year licensing deal with Nintendo has been lined up, should the Activision Blizzard purchase go ahead.

‘Microsoft has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King,’ Spencer announced on Twitter. ‘Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play.’

Notably, the Call of Duty franchise has never been published on Nintendo Switch, likely due to performance concerns. The modern CoD games are graphically intensive, and would require a significant downgrade (or a future improvement in hardware) for a fair and playable port.

For now, Microsoft awaits regulatory approval to pass this deal, as it clears the final hurdles and criticisms of anti-competitive behaviour around its purchase of Activision Blizzard, levelled by regulatory bodies in the UK and US.

Read: Microsoft confirms 10-year offer to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Prior to announcing the new Nintendo deal, Microsoft also confirmed it had offered a decades-long Call of Duty licensing deal to Sony, to allay concerns about the franchise being sequestered on the Xbox ecosystem. It’s likely this deal was then extended with Nintendo, in order to maintain ongoing relationships, and reduce the likelihood of the Activision Blizzard deal being blocked.

In addition to announcing the ten-year agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles, Spencer also took to Twitter to announce Microsoft will continue to offer CoD to PC players via Steam, with simultaneous releases for all platforms.

This may prove to be the final push ahead of approval for the Activision Blizzard acquisition, but stay tuned for more developments as they arrive. For now, we can look forward to a potential future where Call of Duty is offered as a portable title to be played anywhere, on any console.