Call of Duty will continue to release on PlayStation, the pat

Acquired at the start of the week for an astronomical sum flirting with 70 billion dollars, the Activision-Blizzard entity will pass the Microsoft / Xbox flag by 2023, while the takeover procedure is finalized. Such a commercial maneuver obviously raised many questions; that of the monopoly of course, but also of the existence of all the licenses belonging to Activision and Blizzard on the other platforms. This was also one of the hottest topics on social networks, especially concerning the Call of Duty license, one of the most played in the world. A Sony spokesperson even came forward as to the commitments to be honored, and who therefore pushed Phil Spencer, the boss at Xbox to intervene officially. It was by means of a tweet that the now great manitou with the fluorescent green brand wanted to reassure his interlocutors in the market, but also the various communities of players: No, Call of Duty will not become an Xbox exclusive and the games will continue to be released on PlayStation. What to bring down the pressure on people who see such a redemption with a bad eye.

I had good exchanges this week with the bosses of Sony. I confirmed our intention to honor all agreements related to our acquisition of Activision-Blizzard and our desire to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is a major player in our industry and we value our relationship.

In the same way as certain Bethesda Softworks games, Microsoft knows full well that making any purchased license exclusive to their platform is not necessarily a bad move, measuring the risk of making them look like the great manipulators with this kind of maneuver. On the other hand, it is certain that the Redmond firm will take advantage of it to take advantage of it, such as recovering temporary exclusives on DLCs or additional content, imposing to go through the Xbox Game Pass to enjoy less expensive titles, by maintaining, for example, much higher prices at its competitor Sony. Everything is possible.

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