Last September 8th Jim Ryan himself threw the glove on Microsoft: the previously closed agreement between Sony and Activision for the future of the Call of Duty saga was insufficient. At least, para PlayStation. Ryan wanted Xbox to guarantee that their players “will continue to have access to the Call of Duty experience“Today, Phil Spencer picks up the gauntlet, settles the matter and announces that we will continue to hit shots on PS4 and PS5.
The statements of the head of Xbox Game Studios in the podcast Same Brain They arrive a few days after the launch of Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, they are blunt and do not have double readings. “We are not taking Call of Duty away from PlayStation.”
In fact, it is not even a change from the current strategy: Minecraft continues to be published on all systems and it was Microsoft itself that insisted that PlayStation players join the cross-play with the rest of the systems. Which makes a lot of sense: the big plan is for them to be played anywhere. If possible, through the Game Pass.
It cannot be said that the concern of Jym Ryan and, by extension, of PlayStation users was unfounded: Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall will not appear on PS5. However, unlike these games, the vision of Xbox Game Studios in the face of its intentions to acquire Activision Blizzard is to continue publishing Call of Duty on all systems. Two days after the purchase was announced, he said so and recently indicated his plans to bring it to Nintendo Switch. Something that is not funny to Sony either.
Is Phil Spencer’s commitment enough for the future of PlayStation? most likely not
What Call of Duty be exclusive to Xbox would be shooting yourself in the foot. That is something that Phil Spencer has always been clear about and, in fact, it goes against the trend and the new direction with cross-play that the saga has taken. Another thing is the questionable favor treatment that PlayStation has had during this last stage with questionable advantages such as disabling cross-play or the exclusivity of more reload slots. That is not right.
However, what is really interesting in the face of the new statements is that Spencer’s commitment is not limited to deliveries currently in development: but it is long-term:
“As long as there is a PlayStation to publish games on, our intention is to continue publishing Call of Duty on them.”
The rest of Spencer’s statements in the podcast can be seen below and in English.
Is Phil Spencer’s commitment enough for the future of PlayStation? Most likely not. Call of Duty is a key piece in the plans of PlayStation and Microsoft:
- Giving PS4 and PS5 players a favored deal is part of Sony’s strategy to sell off its consoles and the controversial profit-per-copy-sold percentage that has already caused PlayStation some serious upset.
- Microsoft’s plan is totally different and happens to integrate the Activision game into the Game Pass, from the day of launch and is played on all systems under equal conditions. Needless to say, that’s a direct threat to PlayStation.
In fact, Microsoft itself pointed out that Sony had put specific clauses and conditions in its agreements with Activision so that Call of Duty specifically did not reach the Game Pass. The reason? Although it has not been officially established, it is understood that the two parties are aware that the player will prefer to have it at launch and at no additional cost in a service that includes PC and console copies to pay 80 dollars each year for a new one. delivery.
In any case, now the ball is in the court of a sony that it has no intention of facilitating the purchase of Activision Blizzard by its rival, even if it ends up receiving its games anyway. However, the final decision will be up to the regulatory bodies of each country: Brazil and Saudi Arabia do not see any problems, while the United Kingdom has to think about it a little more.