Xbox signs deals with Nintendo, NVidia trying to get Acti Blizzard acquisition across the line

Is it working?

Xbox has signed separate deals with both Nintendo and NVidia in the midst of its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

First, Xbox signed a 10-year deal with Nintendo in order to bring “content parity” to whichever Nintendo console is available at the time.

“Microsoft and Nintendo have now negotiated and signed a binding 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo players — the same day as Xbox, with full feature and content parity — so they can experience Call of Duty just as Xbox and PlayStation gamers enjoy Call of Duty,” Microsoft’s Brad Smith said in a shared statement.

“We are committed to providing long term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the market.”

Next, Xbox confirmed it would bring its titles back to NVidia’s GeForce Now cloud streaming service.

“The agreement will enable gamers to stream Xbox PC titles from GeForce NOW to PCs, macOS, Chromebooks, smartphones and other devices. It will also enable Activision Blizzard PC titles, such as Call of Duty, to be streamed on GeForce NOW after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision closes,” Microsoft and NVidia said in a press release.

“Xbox remains committed to giving people more choice and finding ways to expand how people play,” added Xbox head Phil Spencer. “This partnership will help grow NVIDIA’s catalog of titles to include games like Call of Duty, while giving developers more ways to offer streaming games. We are excited to offer gamers more ways to play the games they love.”

Xbox removed access to its titles on GeForce Now back in 2020.

Microsoft is doubling down in the midst of investigations by the EU, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the USA’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Microsoft has previously attempted to offer concessions to seal the deal — including the offer of a 10-year deal with PlayStation (and others) to keep Call of Duty multiplatform.