Sony has responded for the first time to Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and said that it expects games to remain multiplatform due to “contractual agreements”.
“We expect thatMicrosoftwill abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensureActivisiongames are multiplatform,” aSonyspokesman said (viaWSJ) on Thursday.
Activision creates some ofPlayStation’s most successful games in the Call of Duty series. Last year, the series was both the first (Vanguard) and third (Black Ops Cold War) best-selling games on PlayStation in the US, according to NPD.
However, the future of the series onPS5andPS4was put into doubt followingMicrosoft’s announcement that it will acquire Activision Blizzard in a $70bn deal.
The publisher has had a long-standing content exclusivity agreement with PlayStation for the Call of Duty series, and it’s this Sony could be referring to in its latest statement. Such agreements likely cover multiple years.
Following its acquisition ofBethesdalast year, Microsoft honoured exclusivity agreements forDeathloopand the upcomingGhostwire Tokyo.
2019’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfarecame with aSpecial Ops Survival mode which was exclusive to PS4for one year, while 2020’sBlack Ops Cold War included a timed exclusive Zombies mode called Onslaught.
PlayStation users also receive a number of bonusesfor the recent Call of Duty Vanguard, compared toXboxandPCusers.
Activision Blizzardhas saidit has no intention of removing existing gamesfrom other platforms once it has been acquired.
According to a report fromBloombergthis week, Microsoft plans to keep making“some” of Activision Blizzard’s games for PlayStation consoles.
The publication also put the exclusivity question to Microsoft’s head of gamingPhil Spencer, who said: “I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that.”
It’s worth noting that Spencer made similar comments prior to the completion ofits $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent Zenimax.
However, while existing games such as The Elder Scrolls Online continue to be supported on PlayStation platforms, and existing exclusivity deals for Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo have been honoured, Microsoft hassince confirmedBethesda’s big future games such asStarfield,RedfallandThe Elder Scrolls 6will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
Spencer said in March 2021 that delivering exclusive games for platforms that support Xbox Game Passwas the primary reason Microsoft acquired Bethesda.
However, a games industry analyst has said Microsoft could struggle to gain regulatory approval for its Activision Blizzard takeovershould it plan to make Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive.
Reacting to Microsoft’s plans, DFC Intelligence said in a research note: “Will this deal go through? Regulators will take a close look and franchises like Call of Duty may not be exclusive to Xbox platforms because of antitrust concerns.”
