PlayStation Complains About Impending Call of Duty Xbox Exclusivity

3.7
Xbox and PlayStation are having a pretty public spat over where Call of Duty will be playable going forward. It goes without saying that Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in the history of entertainment, consistently racking up billions of dollars in sales and microtransactions. The brand has only become more valuable with free-to-play spin-offs like Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone elevating the brand and offering other sources of revenue outside of the yearly mainline release. It's a pillar of the online gaming community and has played into being a marquee franchise for both Xbox and PlayStation at different points in time due to marketing exclusivity deals. Now, things are changing with the impending closure of Xbox's acquisition of Activision.

Previously, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer had stated that he plans to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and guaranteed it would continue to exist on there for at least several more years. However, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has some gripes with this and doesn't think the deal is "adequate". Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan aired out his grievances with the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation and suggests that this deal would only ensure the game is available on the platform for the next three releases, which would likely mean Call of Duty has the opportunity to become an Xbox exclusive in 2026.

"I hadn't intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum," said Ryan. "Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft's proposal undermines this principle.


It's unclear as of right now if Xbox just hasn't put it in writing that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation after the marketing deal ends – as Xbox may want flexibility in the future about how it releases the game – or if Xbox really does plan to make it an exclusive in a few years. It's likely that this won't be the end of the story. As for how Spencer and Xbox will respond remains to be seen.



Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/playstation-boss-jim-ryan-complains-call-of-duty-xbox-exclusivity/

Comments

"PlayStation Complains About Impending Call of Duty Xbox Exclusivity" :: Login/Create an Account :: 10 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

ReidsoPosted:

I'm sure Sony can have an exclusive on certain franchise(s) if they want

MikePosted:

Crippy The irony of playstation crying about console exclusivity is awesome to be honest.


They Totally would try it themselves lmao!

XeCrippyPosted:

The irony of playstation crying about console exclusivity is awesome to be honest.

BenCPosted:

Seems unlikely, playstation is still a huge market

TastyPosted:

I know it's a bit different since this is CoD we're talking about, but Sony has locked up exclusives from Japan for years now. Like Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, etc. Recently they had the Spiderman games exclusive. Feels ironic to see them complain

VodkaPosted:

Still waiting for FF7 remake for the Xbox, exclusivity was meant to last until late last year

AntiglioPosted:

xbox is trying to take over the world lol

PinkRibbonPosted:

I don't understand why they are complaining. Business is business. Money is money like they need to just listen to what the people want and not what they want. We are the ones who make the company without are money they won't be a company.

GossipPosted:

If it was gonna be such a problem Sony should've acquired Activision then. Business is business.

RuntsPosted:

its okay we all know it wont be exclusive they will lose tons of money lol