Call of Duty will start coming to Nintendo platforms [Update: ABK Acquisition Approved]

[Ishaan]

 

[Ishaan]

A few select quotes from Microsoft's press conference in Brussels, to discuss the future of its Activision deal. (Eurogamer)

"We will make sure our games work the way people expect, with high technical standards," Smith says, of how Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty might play on Nintendo platforms or Nvidia.

Today's Nintendo deal relates to current and future Xbox titles for now, and then Activision Blizzard games if the buyout is included, Smith says.

Remedies to keep Call of Duty accessible to all could include putting the game on cloud elsewhere, and via PC using ChromeOS, Smith says.

That first quote does not indicate cloud/streaming to me.

 

[Ishaan]

Microsoft has explicitly confirmed that CoD on Nintendo platforms will be native ports. It also mentions Modern Warfare 2 as an example of a game that could be optimized to run on the current Nintendo Switch.

From Microsoft's response to the remedies suggested by the CMA:

Confirming native ports:

CoD titles will be available on Nintendo platforms for at least 10 years. The agreement provides that Microsoft will develop and publish future native console versions of CoD titles for Nintendo platforms for at least 10 years. Microsoft will publish future CoD versions for Nintendo platforms on the same date as the release of those versions on Xbox console platforms; and will maintain feature and content parity to the console versions published on Xbox console platforms, subject to Nintendo policy requirements.

Using Warzone as an example of scaleable engine technology:

CoD includes both the free-to-play title Warzone and buy-to-play releases. The game engine that powers Warzone is mature and has been optimized to run on a wide range of hardware devices (ranging from the Xbox One console released in 2015 up to the Xbox Series X). Warzone supports PC hardware with GPU cards that were released as far back as 2015 (i.e., prior to the release of Nintendo Switch in 2017).

Using Modern Warfare 2 as an example of a game that could be optimized to run on Switch:

The Activision development team have a long history of optimizing game performance for available hardware capabilities. The Parties are confident that in addition to Warzone, CoD buy-to-play titles (e.g., CoD: Modern Warfare 2) can be optimised to run on the Nintendo Switch in a timely manner using standard techniques which have been used to bring games such as Apex Legends, DOOM Eternal, Fortnite and Crysis 3 to the Switch. Activision estimates that this could be done with a period of around [redacted] months.

 

[Ishaan]

Not really surprising info, but I'm adding it to the thread anyway, for the sake of having as complete a set of facts available to us as possible:

At present, Activision does not believe attempting to port CoD to Switch would be worth the returns (no surprises there).



So again, the desire to do this is entirely on Microsoft's part.

 

[Ishaan]

During day 4 of the FTC vs. Microsoft trial, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was called upon to testify through Zoom. The questions he was asked provide a great deal of insight into what kind of engagement Call of Duty sees across all its platforms, as well as his thoughts on the Nintendo Switch and why CoD isn't on there.

Most of this is from journalist Derek Strickland's excellent coverage of the trial with additional reporting from VGC. I've summarized the pertinent parts of Kotick's testimony below. In some places, the questions have been slightly reworded to make it clear what exactly he was being asked.

Before you read on, please note that Bobby Kotick wants the Microsoft/ABK deal to go through, and that this does influence his statements.


Call of Duty has 100 million monthly active users (MAUs) between mobile and console. How many play every single day?

70 million. 90% of people that play are not on Call of Duty every day.

What % of players does each platform represent?

The bulk of players are playing on phones. Then you have probably 25% on PC, and then there's probably say 15-16% play on PlayStation, 7-8% that play on Xbox.

How much revenue does Call of Duty make on PlayStation vs. Xbox?

I would say PlayStation revenues are more than twice Xbox revenues.

Why Call of Duty isn't on Nintendo Switch:

I made a bad judgement. When I had seen the prototype of the Switch, it was different then when I saw the prototype of the Wii [and] I thought it was the most extraordinary video game system ever created. When I saw the prototypes for Switch, I was concerned because they were trying to accomplish a lot with a console that also had a portable capability. I didn’t think it was going to be wildly successful.

Would Activision consider putting Call of Duty on future Nintendo platforms even without the Microsoft acquisition?

I think it's possible, we'd consider the specs. [Kotick is then asked to elaborate] Like I said, once we have the detailed specifications. We missed out on this past generation on Switch, I would like to think we'd be able to do that, but we'd have to wait for specs. We dont have any present plans to do so.

An excerpt of an email between Kotick and Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa is shown. Bobby Kotick is then pressed further on his thoughts on whether they could provide a compelling Call of Duty game for a next-generation Switch device:

Given closer alignment of Gen8 platforms and our previous offerings on PS4 [and] Xbox One, it's reasonable to assume we can make something compelling for [next generation] Switch as well.

So, to summarize everything we've heard these past two weeks (and some more info for context):

• CoD was originally not on Switch because the prototype Nintendo showed Activision didn't convince them of its success
• The reason CoD is not on Switch today is because Activision doesn't feel it's worth the effort at this stage
• CoD could be on a next-generation Switch, provided the specs allow for it
• 51% of CoD players are presently on mobile; 25% are on PC; 15-16% are on PlayStation; and 7-8% are on Xbox
  • If/when a Nintendo platform is added to this equation, it would be interesting to see if the Nintendo device in question grows the total number of players, or whether it takes share away from a couple of the other platforms.

Note: The questions above were not asked in succession. They are from different parts of the testimony.

 

[Ishaan]

And it's done.