If Microsoft gets to acquire Activision, Call of Duty will be on Nintendo consoles for ten years, various non-game gifts for gamers, and Immortality is a new title from Netflix Games.
Xbox makes deal to put Call of Duty on Nintendo’s consoles
Massive announcement from Xbox head, Phil Spencer, on Tuesday evening.
Should Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard King be approved, there’s an agreement to deliver Call of Duty for Nintendo gaming consoles. This is in addition to a commitment to selling the military shooter on Valve’s Steam platform.
I'm also pleased to confirm that Microsoft has committed to continue to offer Call of Duty on
Steam</a> simultaneously to Xbox after we have closed the merger with Activision Blizzard King. <a href="https://twitter.com/ATVI_AB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">ATVI_ABValveSoftware</a></p>— Phil Spencer (XboxP3) December 7, 2022
This is a great deal for gamers, but it’s also a strategic play to show regulators in the U.S. and Europe that the Microsoft-Activision deal isn’t necessarily anti-competitive, as Sony has argued.
Not all gifts for gamers need to be digital
Gamers love gifts as much as anyone, but if you’ve got someone on your list who already has all the games they want, there are other options.
Many of the biggest franchises have merchandise that fans love.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Call of Duty shop that has clothing and kitchen cleavers.
Ubisoft also has a store with Christmas sweaters poster artwork, and figurines in the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry series, the Tom Clancy games, and more.
And both Playstation and Xbox have hoodies and mugs and assorted stuff. There’s a set of stoneware branded with Halo’s Master Chief 117, playing cards adorned with art from Pentiment, a replica stop sign from the Last of Us and a 1000 piece puzzle with art from Horizon Forbidden West
Bungie, developer of Destiny, may have the most treasures in its store, including replica weapons, collectible pins and patches, as well as figurines and all the various t-shirts, jackets, and hoodies.
And then there are the books. There’s so much lore and narrative anchoring Destiny, and Bungie collects it all in journals and “grimoire” editions.
They also publish art books collecting images that Bungie artists have used to convey worlds that are then built in the game, and weapons that players wield.
The most recent of these is The Exotic Collection: Volume One which I got a review copy of and which is exquisite.
Who says gamers don’t read?
Immortality is a perfect fit for Netflix Games
Immortality, an independent game from Half Mermaid and game designer Sam Barlow, was first released this summer for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
A couple of weeks ago, mobile versions were released by Netflix as part of it’s games studio.
As Netflix builds out it’s catalogue of games, Immortality may be the perfect fit so far.
Barlow’s games – Her Story (2015) and Telling Lies (2019) – are interesting interactive experiences where players explore live-action film clips, and through some kind of manipulation, reveal a narrative.
These are shuffle text interactions that present a mystery to be solved. In Immortality, our task is to find out, “What happened to Marissa Marcel?”
The backstory is that Marcel starred in three movies which were never released, and she’s since gone missing. By exploring clips of footage of the films themselves, media appearances by the characters, and looks behind-the-scenes, we’re expected to solve the mystery.
Immortality is available to Netflix subscribers on Android and iOS, as well as on Xbox Series X/S with Game Pass, and on Steam.
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