Regulators have raised concerns that Microsoft could block the hit Call of Duty franchise from being released on rival consoles. Microsoft said it offered Sony a 10-year contract for Call of Duty to be released on PlayStation on the same day as Xbox. The American giant is trying to allay the fears of regulators and competitors.
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by Microsoft Head of games Phil Spencer said late Tuesday that the company has “signed a 10-year commitment” to bring the hit game Call of Duty to Nintendo following the closure of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, as the US tech giants sought to allay antitrust fears by regulators and rivals.
Nintendo did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by CNBC.
It’s unclear whether this undertaking is legally binding or if Nintendo signed it in any way. Microsoft did not immediately comment on these points when contacted by CNBC.
Spencer also said that Microsoft was “committed” to making Call of Duty available on the Steam game distribution platform concurrently to Xbox after the close of the deal.
The announcements come after Microsoft President Brad Smith said Monday that the company has ask Sony to sign a 10-year contract to deliver each new release of Call of Duty on by Sony PlayStation console at the same time as Xbox.
Microsoft’s flashy commitments around Call of Duty, one of the most popular game franchises in history, come as regulators and rivals step up scrutiny of the company’s operations. $69 billion acquisition of Activision was proposed in January. Activision is the developer for Call of Duty.
european union and UK regulator has opened antitrust probe into the merger to see if it harms competition. The EU is concerned Microsoft could block rivals’ access to games like Call of Duty.
Microsoft sought to allay fears this week through its commitments around Call of Duty. The Redmond-based company argued that taking over Activision would be good for gamers and increase competition in the industry.
Microsoft is looking to catch up with rival Sony and the success of its PlayStation 5 console. One of Microsoft’s biggest problems is the lack of first-party games that Sony has invested heavily in. An exhaustive list of games is very useful for selling consoles.
The company is also looking to strengthen its gaming offering in the cloud — where users can efficiently stream games without having to purchase each game individually. The completion of the agreement with Activision will help Microsoft increase the game portfolio for the service.
