Microsoft caused tidal waves last month when they announced the buyout of Activision Blizzard, leading many to wonder what exactly they have up their sleeve — and what ramifications it would bring for games across the industry. Will we see previously cross-platform releases like Call of Duty on Xbox only from now on?
Well, Microsoft has other plans. A lot of plans for an open app store, one that would be accessed from any device and not just Windows or Xbox. The truly relevant bit, however, comes in a paragraph later on:
To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision. And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love. We are also interested in taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform. We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for gamers and for our business.
So it sounds like not only will Microsoft keep putting COD out on PlayStation, but they might even put it on Nintendo Switch at some point. It’s a little hard to tell because of the wording, but at the bare minimum it sounds like Xbox wants some sort of presence on Switch to support the system.
It’ll be a while yet before we see this vision pan out, though if Microsoft can truly offer this vision of an open app store (that doesn’t have anything insidious going on behind the scenes) then it would be for the betterment of the entire industry.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
