Valve says it doesn’t need Xbox Call of Duty guarantee

PC games giant Valve has said that it does not need to have an agreement in place over Call of Duty.

Speaking to Kotaku, the company’s CEO Gabe Newell (pictured) said that it had been offered a long-term agreement by Xbox, which would guarantee that the blockbuster shooter franchise would still appear on the PC platform after Microsoft closed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Newell said that this was not necessary as it didn’t believe in these kinds of long-term partnerships.

“We’re happy that Microsoft wants to continue using Steam to reach customers with Call of Duty when their Activision acquisition closes,” Newell wrote.

“Microsoft has been on Steam for a long time and we take it as a signal that they are happy with gamers reception to that and the work we are doing. Our job is to keep building valuable features for not only Microsoft but all Steam customers and partners.

“Microsoft offered and even sent us a draft agreement for a long-term Call of Duty commitment but it wasn’t necessary for us because a) we’re not believers in requiring any partner to have an agreement that locks them to shipping games on Steam into the distant future b) Phil and the games team at Microsoft have always followed through on what they told us they would do so we trust their intentions and c) we think Microsoft has all the motivation they need to be on the platforms and devices where Call of Duty customers want to be.”

Earlier this week, Microsoft said that it had sent agreements to both Nintendo and Valve in which it committed to bringing Call of Duty to their platforms after the merger is completed. The shooter giant has returned to Steam this year after leaving the platform in 2018. 

The deal is currently being investigated around the world, with competition bodies in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union potentially having issues with the acquisition.