Call of Duty on a Nintendo console? Apparently, this dream of many players may soon come true.
Redmond, Washington. Of all the major console makers, Nintendo was the only one for years that didn’t have its share of the big Call of Duty pie. The shooter spin-off last appeared on the WiiU in 2013 with Call of Duty Ghosts, and since then Activision has consistently ignored the Japanese gaming giant. This may change soon. Xbox head Phil Spencer surprised by unveiling an epic 10-year plan for new Call of Duty releases on Nintendo consoles.
Call of Duty on Nintendo Switch: Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirms 10-year plan
What happened ? Ever since Microsoft announced its takeover of Activision Blizzard in early 2022, the “custody battle” of the Call of Duty goose has been in full swing, so to speak. Microsoft could still run the console shooter on the Xbox Series X and Series S without issue in the future.
However, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s gaming division, continues to reaffirm his desire to make games accessible to as many fans as possible. As proof, he shared his latest Call of Duty project on Twitter. Thus, Microsoft would enter into an agreement that Call of Duty would be available on Nintendo consoles within the next ten years after the merger with Activision.
When can the first CoD on Nintendo appear? The deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is currently expected to close in the spring of 2023, so the new Call of Duty will be playable on a Nintendo console as early as next year, but a 2024 release is more likely.
It remains to be seen if Activision’s development studios will actually offer a native port on the Nintendo Switch, a cloud version available for streaming, or even if a new Nintendo console is already in its infancy. The agreement remains a bit of a curiosity though, the Switch is anything but a shooting console – exclusive games like Pokémon, Mario Kart or Zelda are the strongest games to date. Call of Duty will clearly stand out in this offering.
Call of Duty: after agreement with Nintendo, the president of Microsoft is now shooting red balls at Sony
What about Call of Duty on PlayStation? Meanwhile, PlayStation fans are already worried about the future of Call of Duty on Sony consoles. Microsoft President Brad Smith even chimed in with an open letter. The call to Sony on Twitter was made by:
Our search [von Activision Blizzard] will bring Call of Duty to more players and on more consoles than ever before. It’s good for competition and good for consumers. Thanks a lot, Nintendo. And Sony, if you’d like to sit down and chat with us, we’d love to offer you a 10-year PlayStation contract.
Sony seems to have some issues with Microsoft’s potential Call of Duty exclusivity. Because of the shooter series, Sony has even revealed the expected release date for the PS6. It remains to be seen if Sony will force Brad Smith’s appeal into dialogue with Microsoft. Who knows – if the most curious case arises, we will soon be able to play Warzone 2 on a portable console from Nintendo, and the PlayStation will be in the red.