The ongoing battle between Microsoft and Sony has finally ended, with the latter signing a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. After more than a year of back and forth, Microsoft is about to finalize its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The $68.7 billion dollar acquisition will be the biggest in the gaming industry’s history. And although Sony has been against it from the beginning, it has come to the conclusion that just maybe, it should have always taken the deal. This marks a big win for Microsoft. Following an even bigger win from last week, where the FTC’s request for appeal on the earlier ruling of a preliminary injunction request to stall the acquisition was denied.
Over the weekend, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer officially announced the news. Confirming that Microsoft and Sony have reached an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation after the Activision Blizzard acquisition is finalized.
We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 16, 2023
The deal Sony signed is only for Call of Duty
Sony may have signed a deal with Microsoft, but The Verge reports that this deal is for Call of Duty and Call of Duty only. Other Activision franchises are not included. Which means there’s no guarantee that any of the others will not be made exclusive at some point in the future.
Of course, Sony clearly cares about Call of Duty more than any of Activision’s other franchises. And that’s understandable given how much the game makes on Sony’s PlayStation console. It also shows that things have changed. As this is not the same deal that was initially proposed last year. Under the therms of the old deal Microsoft was willing to keep all Activision console games on PlayStation.
The shift to Call of Duty only is a sign that Microsoft knows it has things in the bag. In addition to the deal being only for Call of Duty, the length of the deal has also been confirmed. The Verge reports that it will last for 10 years. This is the same deal that Nintendo got. It’s also longer than Sony’s contract was prior to agreeing to this new deal.
Now with Sony on board, Microsoft can focus most of its efforts on the UK’s CMA. The Competition and Markets Authority originally blocked the deal over cloud gaming concerns. But have now agreed to discussions with Microsoft on restructuring acquisition terms that satisfy both parties.