Sony and Microsoft have worked out an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three more years, however, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has also reportedly labelled Microsoft’s offer to keep the title on PlayStation “inadequate on many levels,” as reported by GameIndustryBiz.
The disagreement between the two companies comes after Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind the Call of Duty franchise, in a deal valued at $68.7 billion USD (about $85.96 billion CAD). The acquisition is being criticized by regulators, with concerns regarding Microsoft withholding Activision Blizzard’s games from competitor consoles, like the PlayStation.
Last week, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated that Call of Duty will remain multiplatform once Activision Blizzard has been acquired. “We’ve heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them,” wrote Spencer. “That’s why, as we’ve said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere. We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices.”
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
On the other hand, Ryan, in a statement given to GameIndustryBiz said that he did not want to go public and comment on private business, but since Spencer talked about it in the public forum, he feels the need to “set the record straight.” According to 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.”
He added, “We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”
This year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is expected to come to the PlayStation, alongside any other Call of Duty franchise titles that release in the next three years. After that, Call of Duty might become an Xbox-exclusive franchise.
Image credit: Call of Duty
Source: GameIndustryBiz
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