In an effort to allay antitrust concerns among competitors and regulators, Microsoft's head of gaming, Phil Spencer, said late on Tuesday that the company has "entered into a 10-year commitment" to bring the popular game "Call of Duty" to Nintendo following the completion of the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
"Microsoft and Nintendo have entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Both Xbox and Nintendo are committed to helping bring more games to more people - however they choose to play."
It's unclear whether this agreement is legally binding, or if Nintendo has signed anything at all.
Spencer also stated that Microsoft has "committed" to offering "Call of Duty" on the game distribution platform Steam alongside Xbox after the acquisition is completed.
The developments follow Microsoft President Brad Smith's statement on Monday that the company has offered Sony a 10-year contract to make each new "Call of Duty" release available on Sony's PlayStation platform alongside the Xbox.
The Redmond-based software behemoth is hoping the move will allay regulators' and competitors' antitrust concerns over its proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the developer of the popular shooting game "Call of Duty."
According to a Politico report from last month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission would probably file an antitrust case to prevent Microsoft from acquiring Activision.
Microsoft has made a flurry of assurances on "Call of Duty," one of the most well-known video game brands ever, as regulators and competitors increase their scrutiny of the company's proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision.
Microsoft has made assurances related to "Call of Duty" in an effort to allay concerns this week. The company claims the Activision acquisition will benefit players and boost industry competition.
European Union and United Kingdom Antitrust authorities have launched investigations into the transaction to determine whether it will harm competition. The EU is concerned that Microsoft may restrict rivals' access to games such as "Call of Duty."
Microsoft has been attempting to catch up with rival Sony's success with the PlayStation 5 console. One of Microsoft's major challenges is a lack of first-party games, which Sony has been significantly investing in. A diverse game library is beneficial to console sales.
The company is also trying to expand its cloud gaming product, which allows users to stream games without having to buy them separately. The completion of the Activision transaction would allow Microsoft to expand its library of games for the service.
