UK Government Has Seen No Evidence That Nintendo Consoles Can Run Call Of Duty Games Similar To PlayStation And Xbox

The United Kingdom's Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is attempting to block Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a decision that Microsoft is now appealing. The decision to block the deal came down primarily to concerns about the cloud gaming market. But as part of the CMA's disclosures, the organization discussed the console, space, too. In one of its findings, the CMA said it has seen no evidence that a Nintendo platform would be technically capable of running a Call of Duty game similar to those offered on PlayStation and Xbox at this time.

"Nintendo does not currently offer CoD, and we have seen no evidence to suggest that its consoles would be technically capable of running a version of CoD that is similar to those in Xbox and PlayStation in terms of quality of gameplay and content," the CMA said.

The CMA made this disclosure seemingly in response to Microsoft's highly publicized 10-year deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty games to Nintendo platforms should its acquisition of Activision Blizzard go through. Microsoft was seemingly trying to show regulators that it would not make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox but instead bring it to more platforms and people. The CMA went on to agree with Microsoft's assertion that it would not make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox if the deal went through because doing so would be a terrible business decision.

In any event, as part of that announcement, Microsoft said it could develop and publish future versions of Call of Duty games for Nintendo platforms that would run natively. These games would be released on the same day as Xbox and have feature and content parity across all versions.

The CMA said Xbox and PlayStation are understood to be closer competitors than with Nintendo due to "content, target audience, and console technology."

"We found that Nintendo's consoles compete less closely with either of Xbox or PlayStation, generally offering consoles with different technical specifications, and with its most popular titles tending to be more family- and child-friendly," the CMA said.

For its part, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has been upfront and clear about how getting a Call of Duty game running on a Nintendo system would "definitely" require some work.

In a separate interview with The Washington Post, Spencer said if Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard goes through, the Call of Duty series might not show up on a Nintendo system for some time. It would "likely take a little bit of time" to release a Call of Duty game on a Nintendo system, Spencer said, though he did not say anything about which existing or future Call of Duty game could come to Switch.

Assuming Microsoft's deal goes through--which it still could, despite the CMA's decision--Spencer said he intends for future Call of Duty games to release across all major platforms at the same time.

"Once we get into the rhythm of this, our plan would be that when [a Call of Duty game] launches on PlayStation, Xbox and PC, that it would also be available on Nintendo at the same time," he said.

While the CMA is trying to block Microsoft's deal in the UK, it's not a settled matter as of yet. Microsoft plans to appeal and the company could offer remedies to get the regulators on board.

And again, the CMA already agrees that Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard in the UK is not harmful in the area of console gaming. In late March, the CMA said "Overall, the transaction will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK," the group said. The sticking point is cloud gaming, not console or concerns around Call of Duty exclusivity.

In response to the CMA's decision, Microsoft president Brad Smith said it's "bad for Britain" and represents the "darkest day" for Microsoft in Britain in 40 years.