Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in all of gaming. Activision Blizzard’s yearly first-person shooter game is frequently one of the highest-selling games across every console. So when everyone found out that Microsoft, the producer of Xbox, was acquiring Activision Blizzard, there was immediate concern about what that may mean for the possibility of Call of Duty becoming an Xbox/PC exclusive, thereby leaving PlayStation owners in the cold.
On Thursday, Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft Gaming, put all of those concerns to rest. In a tweet, Spencer confirmed that the hope is to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation, as well as honor any contracts that Activision Blizzard currently has with other console producers.
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022
This information from Spencer comes not too long after a Sony spokesperson told the The Wall Street Journal that it expects Microsoft to fulfill any Activision Blizzard contractual obligations.
This is great news for anyone who owns a PlayStation and was worried about the possibility of being unable to play Call of Duty. That said, we do wonder what Spencer and Microsoft’s grand plans are for the future of the franchise. We likely won’t know, though, until the acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes in 2023.