Phil Spencer has shared the news that Microsoft and PlayStation have both officially signed a “binding” agreement to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation platforms once the $69 billion USD acquisition deal with Activision Blizzard is finalised.
“We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favourite games, ” Spencer’s tweet reads, though little other information has been revealed about the agreement. The Verge’s Tom Warren reported that Microsoft confirmed with him it will be a 10-year agreement similar to what was struck with other parties.
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. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 16, 2023
Microsoft president, Brad Smith, shared Spencer’s tweet and added “From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”
The Activision Blizzard deal is seeming like a lock with the FTC’s recent bid to temporarily block the acquisition in US courts being denied, including a further appeal, and the deadline of July 18th for it to be finalised looming incredibly close. If the deadline is missed and an extension is not agreed upon between the two companies Microsoft could owe Activision Blizzard a not-insignificant $3 billion USD payout.
Call of Duty has been the biggest sticking point in the entire ordeal with PlayStation arguing that Microsoft owning the consistent best-seller franchise would be anti-competitive and remaining convinced that it would see future Call of Duty titles either made inferior on PlayStation hardware or simply not released at all. Early on in the road to the acquisition, a 10-year agreement was signed with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty titles to Nintendo hardware, the exact mechanics of which – especially with the current Switch’s comparatively inferior hardware – also remain to be seen.
