Announcement made as Microsoft’s case is presented to EU regulators

In a tweet this morning, Microsoft President Brad Smith announced that the tech giant has signed a “binding” 10-year legal agreement with Nintendo, bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo platform with “full feature and content parity” with Xbox. This follows Microsoft’s commitment last year to bring the popular video game franchise to Nintendo if its acquisition of Activision Blizzard was approved. The deal with Nintendo is part of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to convince regulators to approve the acquisition.

According to Microsoft’s statement, the company had also offered a similar deal to Sony for PlayStation consoles and has committed to releasing the game on Steam at the same time as Xbox. However, the acquisition has faced significant regulatory hurdles, with the US Federal Trade Commission suing to block the takeover, and the UK potentially requiring Activision to divest parts of its business for the merger to proceed. Additionally, the European Union is expected to join the UK in declaring that the acquisition could reduce competition, prompting Microsoft to request a hearing with EU regulators to defend the deal, which is reportedly taking place today.

Sony has been a vocal opponent of the acquisition, with the company’s CEO calling it a “game-changer that poses a threat to our industry.” Microsoft, for its part, has promised to continue supporting Call of Duty on PlayStation “forever.”