Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been the hottest topic this week in the video games industry and beyond. Most of the discourse surrounding the bombshell news involved Activision’s juggernaut Call of Duty, which is seen as something that can potentially make or break the deal.
Analysts have argued that making Call of Duty Xbox exclusive can potentially land Microsoft in trouble with regulators, while others have argued that it doesn’t make sense for Microsoft to not make future entries exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem. Enter Xbox CEO Phil Spencer, who released a very carefully crafted statement that some see as a move to calm legal concerns.
Microsoft “desires to keep” Call of Duty on PlayStation
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022
In the first part of his statement, Spencer clearly stated that Microsoft will honor existing agreements, which is pretty obvious considering Activision’s existing contracts are legally binding. But the latter half of his statement doesn’t express intent, only “desire to keep” Call of Duty on PlayStation. Read that again.
Spencer’s statement could mean:
- Only existing Call of Duty games will stay on PlayStation and Microsoft will continue to support them
- Microsoft wants to bring Sony to the negotiating table if PlayStation wants Call of Duty
- Call of Duty, like Minecraft, will simply remain multiplatform
Take your pick.
Opinion: Call of Duty’s status on PlayStation is a big question mark
Zarmena writes… Phil Spencer has a way with words, but if the Bethesda deal is any indication, it’s highly likely that future Call of Duty games will be Microsoft exclusives while existing titles and Warzone will stay on PlayStation. I find it funny that Microsoft keeps reiterating that it’ll keep Activision Blizzard games, including Call of Duty, on PlayStation post acquisition as if it’s doing Sony a huge favor. I doubt it’s legal to pull ongoing, live games that people have paid for from select platforms. That’ll be one legal headache Spencer doesn’t want.
In other news, Ghostwire Tokyo‘s release date has been leaked, and Hogwarts Legacy might not be delayed after all.
