In the still ongoing drama surrounding Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of publisher Activision Blizzard, there has been a continuous back and forth between the leadership of Xbox and PlayStation about the future of Call of Duty on both platforms.
In part of Microsoft’s highly publicized push to keep the iconic series on PlayStation in the future, the company has said that it offered Sony a 10-year deal to keep CoD on PlayStation as recently as Nov. 11, according to a recent report by The New York Times. Sony has reportedly declined to comment on the supposed offer.
This offer made by Microsoft comes at a time when the company is trying to appease regulators from around the world so that the purchase of Activision Blizzard can officially go through. Microsoft has argued since the purchase was announced that the deal would be beneficial to all gamers, game creators, and the games industry as a whole. CEO Phil Spencer has publicly stated numerous times that the goal is to keep CoD on PlayStation long-term.
Sony has been adamantly opposing the deal since, with Sony CEO Jim Ryan meeting with regulators in the EU and around the world, saying that the deal and Microsoft’s control over IP like CoD would have “major negative implications for gamers and the future of the gaming industry.” Back in September, Ryan scoffed at a supposed deal offered by Microsoft that would only keep CoD on PlayStation for three years past the current deal, reportedly set to expire after the next two main franchise releases after Modern Warfare 2.
Many of the decisions from various regulator committees are not expected to be finalized until at least the start of 2023. Members of Xbox and Activision Blizzard leadership are anticipating the deal to eventually go through.
