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Microsoft and Sony have inked an agreement to keep the popular game franchise, Call of Duty, on the PlayStation platform. This announcement comes after Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The gaming chief of Microsoft, Phil Spencer, tweeted yesterday, “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. “
Addressing concerns and ensuring consumer access
The goal of this announcement by the software giant is to address concerns from regulators. They were worried that the merger would make games from Activision, including the widely-loved Call of Duty shooting game franchise, exclusive only to Xbox.
Microsoft’s President, Brad Smith, said, “Since the beginning of this acquisition process, we have been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after the deal is approved, we will continue to focus on ensuring that Call of Duty is available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”
Additional agreements and challenges
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressed worries about the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal, stating that it could harm consumers who play video games on consoles or have subscriptions. They believed that Microsoft might try to exclude rivals like Sony Group.
To address the regulator’s concerns, Microsoft had previously agreed to license “Call of Duty” to competitors, including a 10-year contract with Nintendo, as long as the merger went through.
Although Microsoft’s initial announcement does not mention a 10-year commitment for Call of Duty on PlayStation, the head of global communications at Xbox, Kari Perez, confirmed this to The Verge. However, Perez also clarified that the deal is only for Call of Duty. This agreement is similar to the 10-year deal between Microsoft and Nintendo, but it is different from the various agreements Microsoft has made with Nvidia and other cloud gaming platforms to bring Call of Duty and other Xbox/Activision games to rival services.
In the meanwhile, Microsoft is facing challenges from the UK Competition and Markets Authority. Bloomberg reported last week that Microsoft has offered to sell the rights for cloud-based games in the UK market.
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