The possibility that Microsoft would make Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox was always a stretch but was still an understandable fear. That fear has now been put to rest as Microsoft and Sony have entered into a “binding agreement” to ensure that the long-running FPS will continue to come to PlayStation.
Microsoft president Brad Smith said: “From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers.
“Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsWe are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 16, 2023
The details of the agreement have not been revealed. For example, will new Call of Duty games launch on Gamepass on day one? Microsoft themselves have confirmed that the deal with run for ten years.
Sony was previously offered a different deal back in 2022 in which Microsoft proposed that they would keep all Activision games on PlayStation until 2027. This new deal only applies to Call of Duty, with rumours suggesting that Microsoft offered Sony two different deals: either Call of Duty staying on PlayStation, or all other Activision-Blizzard games being guaranteed to come to Sony’s console. Sony opted for Call of Duty which makes sense: each year the franchise sells millions upon millions of copies on PlayStation and Sony gets a cut of all those sales. Court documents previously revealed that Call of Duty brings in around $800 million in revenue for Sony every year.
Following the FTC’s failure to halt the Microsoft-Activision deal, it now looks like Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is practically guaranteed to go through, making them the owners of a mega-franchise that prints money every year.
WGB 