Source: Activision Blizzard
After Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard for Xbox, gamers and analysts alike have been wondering if the immensely popular multiplatform shooter Call of Duty is going to become an Xbox exclusive. According to a new report from Bloomberg, we finally have our answer: the next three Call of Duty games will release on PlayStation, but the future of the franchise is hazy beyond that.
According to the report, four people with knowledge of Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition deal (speaking anonymously since they weren’t authorized to speak to the press) have stated that before the deal was announced, Activision Blizzard had plans to release the next three Call of Duty games on PlayStation. This includes a new Modern Warfare title expected to release in 2022, another Call of Duty currently being developed by Treyarch, and a new version of the free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone.
This news follows recent comments made by CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer, in which he announced Microsoft’s intent to honor existing Call of Duty agreements. “I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation,” said Spencer. “Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.”
Source: Activision Blizzard
Beyond these “existing Call of Duty agreements,” it’s unclear whether or not future entries in the franchise will come out on PlayStation or not. On one hand, the majority of Call of Duty’s players are on PlayStation, meaning that Microsoft would likely be leaving a lot of money on the table if they made Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox consoles. On the other, Call of Duty being exclusive to Xbox would likely drive many gamers that didn’t have plans to get an Xbox otherwise to consider buying one, bringing more players into the Xbox ecosystem.
Microsoft is expecting the acquisition to finalize within the next year and a half, so ultimately, we won’t know for sure what Microsoft plans to do until the deal goes through and it shares its decision publicly. We’ll also likely find out if Microsoft plans to stop annual Call of Duty releases once the deal closes, too.
