Microsoft exec wants to bring Call of Duty games to Switch
If the acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through, that is
Microsoft wants to put Call of Duty games on the Nintendo Switch, the company's president has revealed.
Speaking to CNBC, Microsoft President Brad Smith outlined some brief plans for the Call of Duty series going forward, should the company's acquisition of Activision Blizzard get approval from regulators. "We’d like to bring it to Nintendo devices," Smith stated of the Call of Duty series at large.
"We’d like to bring the other popular titles that Activision Blizzard has, and ensure that they continue to be available on PlayStation, [and] that they become available on Nintendo," Smith continued. He pointed to the Microsoft acquisition of Minecraft developer Mojang as an indicator of what the company wants to do with Call of Duty should the acquisition go ahead.
Over the past few weeks, Microsoft executives have reiterated their stance on keeping Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles going forward. Chiefly, Xbox boss Phil Spencer signaled a desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation even after the Activision Blizzard acquisition, citing a desire to keep player bases together, and elsewhere, it's been reported that the next three Call of Duty games will come to PlayStation consoles, at the very least.
However, there's still some doubt the acquisition could be approved by regulators. Earlier this month, the FTC announced it would break from tradition and solely review Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stepping away from typically handling such matters alongside the Justice Department. Alongside comments indicating a stricter stance on potential monopolies from the FTC, there's no guarantee at all that the deal will actually go through.
You can head over to our explainer on the Activision Blizzard lawsuit for the latest on the legal proceedings against the developer.
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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.