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Microsoft plans to continue releasing Call of Duty games on Sony platforms following the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said. The company plans to bring the Call of Duty titles to PlayStation “provided there is a PlayStation to deliver to”.
“We’re not taking Call of Duty off the PlayStation. It’s not our intention,” confirms Spencer in an interview with the Same Brain YouTube channel. “As long as there is a PlayStation to deliver to, our intention is to continue shipping Call of Duty on PlayStation.” Xbox CEO compares to Minecraft, owned by Microsoft since 2014. “We’ve expanded, not narrowed, the places where people can play Minecraft.”
The future of Call of Duty on the PlayStation platform has been under discussion for some time, since Microsoft announced plans to acquire publisher Activision Blizzard for $ 68.7 billion. Critics of the acquisition, including PlayStation manufacturer Sony, argue that it would be unfair for PlayStation players for Call of Duty to become an Xbox first party title. Market regulators such as the UK CMA are currently investigating this issue.
Microsoft has said in the past that it will continue releasing Call of Duty for PlayStation consoles in the near future. Previously promised that the shooter franchise would remain on PlayStation for “at least several years”, even after the existing agreement between Sony and Activision. However, Sony thinks it doesn’t go far enough. The parent company PlayStation has not yet commented on Spencer’s new statements.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is currently under review by several market watchers around the world. Spencer says in his interview with Same Brain that he is “very confident” that the acquisition will be approved. If all goes according to plan, Microsoft expects the acquisition to close in June 2023.
