Email reveals PlayStation boss wasn't actually worried about Call of Duty becoming Xbox exclusive: 'We'll be OK, more than OK'
Sony is ferociously opposed to Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, in large part out of purported concern that the ultra-lucrative Call of Duty series could eventually be made an Xbox console exclusive. But an email revealed during today's FTC hearing on the deal, reported by IGN, indicate that the company's initial reaction to the planned buyout was very different, and almost entirely untroubled by the prospect.
In an email written on January 20, 2022, two days after the proposed acquisition was announced, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said the buyout was «not an Xbox exclusivity play at all.»
«I’ve spent a fair bit of time with both Phil [Xbox chief Phil Spencer] and Bobby [Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick] over the past day,» Ryan wrote in an email. «I’m pretty sure we will continue to see CoD on PS for many years to come.»
Ryan also expressed confidence in Sony's own lineup of exclusive games: «We have some good stuff cooking. Keep your eyes peeled. I’m not complacent and I’d rather this hadn’t happened, but we’ll be OK, more than OK.»
That email was sent the same day that Spencer said on Twitter that Microsoft will «honor all existing agreements» if and when the Activision acquisition is completed, and aims to "keep Call of Duty on PlayStation."
Ryan's email would seem to fly in the face of Sony's professed concerns about losing access to the Call of Duty series on PlayStation hardware. Specifics weren't publicly discussed at the time but in November 2022, Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal guaranteeing access to Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles, a proposal Sony rejected. A few months earlier, Ryan had also said «no» to Microsoft's previous offer of guaranteed
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