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Xbox boss Phil Spencer finally addresses concerns about Call of Duty leaving PlayStation after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
In an unprecedented business move, Xbox, the gaming division of Microsoft led by Phil Spencer, has recently acquired one of the biggest video game publishers, Activision Blizzard, for an all-cash transaction of $68.7 Billion USD.
This deal easily outclasses Xbox’s previous acquisition of ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda, for a sum of $7.5 Billion or the recent acquisition of mobile gaming giant Zynga by Take-Two Interactive, for $12.7 Billion.
However, aside from the news of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotnik finally stepping down, the biggest discussion has been regarding the exclusivity of Activision’s titles.
Phil Spencer promises to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation but doesn’t say anything about future titles
Microsoft’s gaming division Xbox has risen to be an industry giant under the leadership of Phil Spencer. The brand has not only expanded beyond consoles to bring titles to PCs and other devices via the cloud but has also grown its number of first-party studios.
With the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Xbox gained control of several top-tier IPs, most notably Call of Duty. The annual military first-person shooter is one of the top-selling titles every year across all platforms, including PlayStation.
When asked about the acquisition, PlayStation simply responded that they hoped Microsoft would honor the existing contracts and keep Call of Duty multiplatform. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently addressed the matter in a tweet, by stating,
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
Xbox’s promise to honor existing agreements and keep Call of Duty on PlayStation is certainly reassuring for the PlayStation faithful, but in all honesty, it should not come as a surprise.
Previously, during the Bethesda acquisition, Xbox upheld all agreements, including that of Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo being PlayStation console exclusives. Furthermore, it also kept all released titles on PlayStation and has been supporting them with regular updates.
