Microsoft would like to see Call of Duty released on the Nintendo Switch, and it wishes to give the franchise the same treatment as Minecraft.
During an interview with WSJ Live, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has once again clarified that Call of Duty specifically will be continue to be available on PlayStation. He also stated that Microsoft would like to see Call of Duty playable on the Nintendo Switch along with many different screens and devices, with the intent of treating the franchise like Minecraft.
According to Phil, this opportunity is really about mobile for the software giant. With around 3 billion people playing video games in totality, there’s only about 200 million households on console. As such, there’s a big opportunity for the company to capture the far greater audience that plays outside of the console and PC segment.
Spencer made no mention of other Activision franchise remaining multiplatform, however. Microsoft will likely evaluate other IPs on a case-by-case basis, and release them on PlayStation and other platforms where it makes sense for the company.
Microsoft Gaming CEO’s views are in-line with his previous statement regarding mobile gaming being one the software giant’s primary reasons for acquiring Activision Blizzard King. During an interview on the Microsoft TechTalk show, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that the company’s main attraction for acquiring Activision Blizzard King is its mobile division.
According to Phil, Microsoft is aware that the company’s DNA is not in mobile, and it does not have a successful mobile platform today. As a company, the software giant comes from PC, and in the gaming space, it comes from PC and console. Yet, most of the players across the globe today play on their phones.
Phil said that when Microsoft looked at ABK, a vast majority of the people who play games from Activision Blizzard King are playing mobile versions of their games. This includes games King games like Candy Crush that many play on their phones. In addition, Phil pointed out that Acitivision Blizzard King has done a good job in building mobile versions of some of their classic core games. He highlighted mobile Call of Duty as crossing $1 Billion dollars in lifetime revenue. He also mentioned that Blizzard recently launched a mobile version of Diablo, which is one of their main franchises.
