Microsoft confirms it will let Sony put Call of Duty on PS Plus on day one

videogameschronicle.com:

Microsoft has confirmed it’s offered Sony the option to put future Call of Duty games on its PlayStation Plus subscription service on day one, as part of its bid to appease regulators’ concerns over its proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition.

However, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has alleged the offer could be reliant on unsustainable licensing costs, which would force it to raise prices.

The offer is detailed in Microsoft’s newly-published response to UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) provisional findings on the deal, which were released last month.

In its response, Microsoft reiterates its willingness to sign a 10-year contract guaranteeing the shooter series will continue to be released on PlayStation consoles post-acquisition.

Microsoft claims its 10-year offer will provide Sony with parity on “release date, content, features, upgrades, quality and playability with the Xbox platform” across PS4, PS5 and any successor platforms.

Notably, the Xbox owner said that parity will also apply to streaming and subscription services, confirming a Bloomberg report from last year.

“Any CoD Game in a Microsoft multigame subscription is eligible for inclusion in Sony’s multi-game subscription service, at the same time and for the same duration,” Microsoft claims in its response.

It has confirmed that, should the Activision Blizzard deal be approved by regulators, it intends to put future releases on Game Pass on the day of their release. This would seemingly give Sony the green light to do the same on PlayStation Plus for the next decade, should it accept Microsoft’s offer.

However, in its own response to the CMA’s findings, which were also published on Wednesday, SIE claims that Microsoft’s subscription