Call of Duty is coming to Nvidia GeForce Now and Nintendo platforms after Microsoft signed a 10-year deal with its somewhat rivals. This is all to appease European Union antitrust regulators who have issued an antitrust warning to Microsoft over its proposed merger with Activision Blizzard.
Earlier today, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith confirmed in a tweet that Nintendo has signed a 10-year contract that will bring Xbox games to its consoles. Should the Activision Blizzard merger go through, that will include Call of Duty. Prior to meeting with European Commission regulators, Smith made a similar announcement for Nnvidia's GeForce Now game streaming service.
Sony, however, remains opposed to signing any deal with Microsoft promising Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation. Microsoft's attempts to deliver an olive branch to Sony have been reportedly rebuffed according to sources speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, with the two companies "not close" to inking a similar 10-year commitment.
"We haven't agreed [on] a deal with Sony, but I hope we will," said Smith following today's meeting with the European Commission. "Sony can spend all its energy trying to block this deal, which will reduce competition and slow the evolution of the market. Or they can sit down with us, and hammer out a deal."
Activision Blizzard issued a similar statement accusing Sony of attempting to safeguard its dominance of the home console market. "The European Commission‘s mission is to protect European consumers, not the global market leader. Sony is attempting to undermine that goal, to protect its two-decade dominance in video games. We are confident regulators will find that our proposed merger will enhance competition and create greater opportunities for workers and better games for our players."
The European Union isn't the only regulator considering Microsoft's proposed $70 billion merger with Activision. The UK's CWA is also reviewing the merger, with three out of six rivals speaking to the regulators saying it would have a negative impact on competition in the video games market. The US FTC has gone a step further and outright sued to block the merger entirely.