Microsoft on Call of Duty: “We’d like to bring it to Nintendo devices”

Microsoft President Brad Smith has told CNBC that, if the record-breaking Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through, the company intends to bring Call of Duty back to the Nintendo Switch. There hasn’t been a Call of Duty game on a Nintendo platform since Call of Duty: Ghosts was released for the Switch back in 2013. But, as part of its plan to expand its principle of universality, Microsoft will seek to publish as many games on as many platforms as possible. The idea is basically to make sure every gamer, and every partner, gets their piece of the Microsoft Gaming pie.

“Great titles, like Call of Duty, will continue to be available on the Sony PlayStation,” Smith told CNBC’s Eamon Javers. “We’d like to bring it to Nintendo devices. We’d like to bring the other popular titles that Activision Blizzard has, and ensure that they continue to be available on PlayStation; that they become available on Nintendo.”

Related: What the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard buyout could mean for labor and monopolies in the gaming industry

Smith then went on to cite Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft (now available on every platform under the sun) as an example of what gamers (and indeed business regulators) can expect if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through.

“What we’ve done with the acquisition,” said Smith, “I think, is a clear indicator of what we hope to do if we acquire Activision Blizzard. Namely, invest even more in innovation, bring it to more people, bring it to more platforms, make it even more useful, and hopefully delightful, for the people who use it.”