Xbox head open to ‘longer term’ agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft started off with some mixed messaging around the status of Call of Duty on PlayStation following its planned merger with Activision Blizzard. In the months since then, the company has been looking to clear that up. After saying that Call of Duty will be “on PlayStation for as long as PlayStation exists”, Phil Spencer is backing that up with talks of a long-term commitment with Sony. 

Regulators like the FTC, European Commission and the UK Competition & Markets Authority are all concerned about the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation should this acquisition go through, and it has been at the heart of almost every discussion so far. In cases like this, Microsoft can agree on concessions in order to get regulators to approve, and it sounds like there may be a willingness to do that.

This week, Phil Spencer is back, this time appearing on the Decoder podcast. During the interview, Spencer was asked about the contract situation with Sony and Call of Duty. Shortly after explaining that there are no plans to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation, Spencer added that he would be open to putting forward a ‘longer-term commitment’ that both Sony and regulators would be comfortable with.

This seems to come in response to reports earlier this year. Microsoft had offered Sony a deal to ensure Call of Duty on PlayStation for several more years post-acquisition, but Sony used this to strike up controversy, calling the deal ‘woefully inadequate.

Spencer did add that no contract would stipulate that Call of Duty will be on PlayStation forever. However, the company has no plans to take the series away either, as long as there are PlayStation customers to sell Call of Duty to. Spencer also clarified that he means a native version of the game, not a cloud version that operates through Xbox Game Pass or something similar. Microsoft would also be willing to work out a deal to offer Call of Duty over the cloud on PlayStation if it is something Sony would be interested in.

Right now, the CMA and EU Commission are moving forward with phase 2 investigations into the deal and will announce their decisions next year. The FTC should provide an update on its stance on the deal before the end of the year.

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KitGuru Says: Like Minecraft, Call of Duty will stick around as a multi-platform franchise. With that hopefully out of the way, I hope we can finally start getting some answers regarding other franchises, like Diablo, Overwatch and others. 

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