Call of Duty games coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox boss confirms
When will the series grace Nintendo's console?
More details have today been revealed about the proposed deal between Xbox owners Microsoft and Japanese gaming giant Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo platforms.
This deal is one of Microsoft's big swings regarding its ongoing acquisition of Activision (the company behind CoD), and it will be music to the ears of players on Nintendo Switch. Any players worrying that Microsoft would immediately make CoD an Xbox exclusive can rest easy, it would seem.
Previously, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in a Tweet on 7th December: "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 also confirmed a 10-year commitment to Call of Duty on Steam.
Now, a few more details about this deal have been confirmed, and you can learn them by carrying on reading!
What's the latest news on Call of Duty games coming to Switch?
Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, announced on Twitter on 21st February, "We've now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers."
Smith added: "This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms."
Seeming to quell fears that Nintendo loyalists would get watered down versions of Microsoft's games, the image attached to Smith's Tweet promises to offer "full feature and content parity" on the "same day as Xbox".
The image attached to Smith's Tweet also states, "We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the gaming market."
He also promises that Nintendo players will be able to "experience Call of Duty just as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty." The mention of Sony's console family in that sentence should allay the fears of PlayStation-centric CoD fans, too.
Anyone that has been following along with the legal proceedings surrounding Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard will know that access to Call of Duty is one of the big sticking points that keeps being brought up.
This statement, and the legally-binding agreement it references, could go a long way to putting those fears to bed about CoD being locked exclusively on Microsoft's Xbox consoles. A decade of sharing is certainly a good place to start.
Interestingly, the statement in Smith's Tweet does not mention the Switch console by name, instead promising to bring Call of Duty "to Nintendo players".
Of course, the Switch is where Nintendo players are currently congregated, but rumours persist that a successor console (be that a Switch Pro or something else entirely) could be coming at some point.
If anything gets announced about the next Nintendo console, we'll be sure to let you know. And as we learn which CoD games are coming to which Nintendo platforms and when, we'll definitely update this page.
Read more on Nintendo:
- Nintendo Switch OLED review - handheld gaming levels up
- The very best Nintendo Switch games
- Nintendo Switch Pro release date - the latest rumours
- Best Nintendo Switch games for kids
- Nintendo Direct - when is the next live stream?
- Best Nintendo Switch micro SD cards to buy
- How to charge Nintendo Switch controllers
- The best Nintendo Switch Lite games - take these on the go
- How to connect Nintendo Switch to TV
Hungry for more gaming? Visit our video game release schedule, or swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.
Looking for something to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Authors
Toby Saunders is a freelance writer specialising in Video Game journalism. He has a wealth of experience in the field and is published on many different websites including PCGamesN, Nintendo Life and Pocket Tactics. He has a degree in Film Studies (he gets to write about Film and TV occasionally, too).