Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan criticizes Xbox (specifically Phil Spencer) for its current offer regarding the future ofCall of Duty. As many know, Microsoft is in the process ofacquiring Activision Blizzard King, something that takes quite a long time and has to be investigated and approved thoroughly.
While at least one region has approved Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisitions, others like the UK are calling for more thorough investigations regarding this impact on the market. In the crossfire isCall of Duty, arguably the most popular first-person shooter franchise in gaming history.
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It is known that Microsoft sent Sony a letter, providing astatement and promise thatCall of Dutywould remain on PlayStation, “with feature and content parity for at least several more years.” This is also reportedly beyond any current agreements between Sony and Activision Blizzard, with Microsoft also stating that this offer goes well beyond most typical agreements. However, Sony doesn’t believe this promise is adequate and fails to consider the impact on PlayStation Gamers.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan stated he “hadn’t intended to comment on what [he] understood to be a private business discussion,” but that he thinks he needs to “set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum.” Per Ryan,
“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”
It should be noted that, back in January, talks regarding this acquisition didn’t seem so sharp or competitive. Phil Spencer, at the time, reportedly had a good call with Sony leadership, where they discussed Xbox’s commitment to keepingCall of Dutyon PlayStation consoles. Furthermore, Spencer has previously commented that makingCall of Dutyexclusive to Xbox simply wouldn’t be profitable, so it’s uncertain really where this business conversation is going. Depending on when Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, or if for that matter, it sounds like Microsoft is only proposing to keepCall of Dutyon other platforms throughCoD 2025or2026.
WhileCall of Dutyis definitely a point of contention between these two companies, it always has been in a way. The latestCall of Dutygames have all featured PlayStation-exclusive content, while earlier games received Xbox-exclusive content. This is obviously more final and a bigger issue, so it’ll be interesting to see how all the companies involved resolve this.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2releases October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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