In an apparent effort to overcome opposition from rival Sony, Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to make the popular video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years following the completion of its USD 69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Regulators in the US, Europe, and other places are closely examining the mega-merger.
Sony, which makes the PlayStation console and has voiced concerns to antitrust watchdogs about losing access to what it calls a “must-have” game title, has resisted Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox game console.
Microsoft President Brad Smith tweeted his thanks to Nintendo, which makes the Switch game console, saying the same offer was available for Sony. “Any day @Sony wants to sit down and talk, we’ll be happy to hammer out a 10-year deal for PlayStation as well,” he said.
According to Smith, the agreement will expand the number of platforms and gamers who can play Call of Duty, which is “good for consumers as well as for competition.”
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Sony’s European press office.
The main point of contention is ownership of upcoming iterations of Activision Blizzard’s most well-known games, particularly the first-person military shooter franchise Call of Duty.
Since its release on 28 October, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has sold more than USD 1 billion, according to a report from Activision released last month.
(With inputs from PTI)
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