This week, in the latest round of noise around Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company announced it was committing to releasing Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles for ten years.
The internet loved that, of course. And Xbox knew it would. Here was the company waving a piece of paper that proved to the world that not only is Xbox committed to not making Call of Duty exclusive, it is making it even less exclusive than ever. It's a great PR move, and one that has the added benefit of highlighting Nintendo Switch as a legitimate platform for mature-rated games (note: The Brazil regulator approved the deal, citing Nintendo Switch as a successful console without Call of Duty. However, the UK regulator argued that Nintendo’s family-friendly focus meant they weren’t directly comparable).
It proves a point, but little else. To make a AAA Call of Duty for Switch (which I assume is the suggestion) will take years. By the time one is ready, we'll be onto whatever the next Nintendo machine is. And who know what Nintendo plans to do. A new Switch? Or something utterly random? Maybe it'll be another hit, maybe it'll be Wii U 2. Either way, Microsoft just committed to developing and releasing an expensive game series on it for a decade.
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