Xbox has claimed that PlayStation has prevented Call of Duty from being on Xbox Game Pass for years. There was a lot of chaos surrounding Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of Activision. The tech giant announced earlier this year that it intends to buy the massive game publisher, which would give Xbox full control of Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and more. Although some regulators have already agreed to the deal, there are still others that need convincing and Sony has decided to fight its best fight. Earlier this year, Sony expressed concerns about the deal and feared that Call of Duty would become an Xbox exclusive after it closed. Xbox’s Phil Spencer responded to these concerns noting that he would treat Call of Duty like Maine Crafta franchise that continues to support it on PlayStation.
After extensive discussions about how the Microsoft Activision deal could be bad for the industry due to how it can take advantage of things like exclusive offers, Microsoft responded. The tech giant is back on a well-known topic of “ban rights,” which is about a company paying a developer for not putting their game on another platform or service. Microsoft now claims that as part of PlayStation’s current marketing deal with Activision for the Call of Duty series, it’s blocking the shooter franchise on Xbox Game Pass. Since there’s no Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass yet, that’s not a huge shock, but Microsoft is cashing in against Sony’s criticism and issues with the Microsoft and Activision deal.
We already knew this, but Microsoft explains that Sony’s Call of Duty deal includes “a limitation on Activision Blizzard’s ability to put Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years.” https://t.co/BfdfbE1Ae7 pic.twitter.com/37nEXYjfuj
Tom Warren October 18 2022
As of now, it remains to be seen if this will affect how regulators handle this deal. Microsoft has already confirmed that it will continue to honor PlayStation’s deal with Call of Duty if the deal goes through. The deal is expected to run until 2024 or 2025, which could also mean Microsoft won’t be able to put the next few Call of Duty games on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
What do you think of the Microsoft / Activision deal? Let me know in the comments or hit me up Twitter @Cade_Onder.
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