Microsoft and Sony have finally reached an agreement to keep it call of Duty on PlayStation once the Activision Blizzard merger is complete. The surprise agreement comes after that Months of struggles between the two companies and is a sign that the takeover is all but inevitable.
“We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding retention agreement call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tweeted on July 16. “We look forward to a future where gamers around the world have more choices to play their favorite games.”
It’s not immediately clear what the terms of that agreement will be, and whether they’ll be similar to the proposals Microsoft recently signed with Nintendo and other cloud gaming providers. In the past, Sony has paid Activision for special benefits related to these call of Duty, including time-limited exclusive content and special marketing rights. It was also revealed during the recent court battle surrounding the deal that Activision had used its partnership with Sony to negotiate better commission rates for the franchise on Xbox.
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Sony had vigorously contested the planned takeover of the publishing house by Microsoft in regulatory proceedings in Europe, Great Britain and the USA Following the recent legal defeat of the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block the deal
Sony’s current deal with Activision shouldn’t expire until 2025, and the new deal should last at least for the remainder of the PS5’s lifespan. Microosft has been claiming all along that it is not in its financial interest to make the series exclusive as the games generate billions in revenue on the competing platform.
Microsoft declined to comment. Sony did not respond immediately.
