It’s been a fairly dramatic period in the land of games, as Microsoft’s industry-shaking acquisition of Activision Blizzard comes into sharper focus. Announced at the beginning of this year, armchair analysts have been debating among themselves how much the proposed deal will affect the company’s competitors; will franchises like Call of Duty become Xbox exclusive? Can Sony make do without its long-standing relationship with the publisher? Some more recent details are beginning to answer such questions.
Earlier this month, the UK government stated it would be investigating the acquisition further, as its initial findings call into question how it might harm competitors. In response, Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer reiterated the company’s intention to keep Call of Duty multi-platform. Going into more detail, he issued a statement about an agreement between Microsoft and Sony, ensuring the ever-popular franchise would remain on PlayStation for “at least several more years”.
This seemed to placate most fans, but this statement somewhat backfired. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan did n’t take long to issue a statement of his own, providing his view on the situation. He called the offer, which apparently promises Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms for three more years beyond existing contracts, “inadequate on many levels”. Assuming the acquisition does eventually go through, Microsoft’s proposal will mean that, in a few years, Call of Duty will indeed become a console exclusive series.
Ryan’s complaints are certainly understandable. The platform holder has partnered with the FPS franchise for years to secure PlayStation-adjacent marketing and exclusive content, so Microsoft swooping in to potentially take all that away — from Sony and PlayStation users — gives the suit reasonable cause for concern. On the other hand, if the deal does indeed close, Activision Blizzard and all its games will be Microsoft’s property, and it can do whatever it likes. It’s big, nasty business, but it’s still just business. Sony certainly isn’t innocent of making large acquisitions — it’s been buying up studios all year, most notably Bungie — but you could argue that nothing’s going to trump MS having ActiBlizz in its back pocket.
Whatever your opinion on this industry drama is, we want to hear it. What are your thoughts on the contentious “agreement” about Call of Duty? Is Jim Ryan right to call it into question? Do Microsoft owe Sony anything? Does any of the ultimately matter? Would you miss CoD if it eventually skipped PlayStation? Have your say in the comments section below.
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