Microsoft has reportedly offered Sony the rights to Call of Duty on PS Plus
Microsoft has reportedly offered Sony the rights to add Call of Duty to its PS Plus subscription service, should its bid to purchase Activision Blizzard succeed.
According to a report by Bloomberg(opens in new tab) (via Video Games Chronicle(opens in new tab)), this new offer, which would bring the award-winning action shooter to the PlayStation Plus service, has been made on top of an as-yet not accepted deal to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation consoles for 10 years post-acquisition. According to Bloomberg, Sony has not yet accepted this new offer.
This alleged offer presents the latest in a series of efforts made by the Xbox Series X│S parent company to appease Sony, as well as calm the skeptical regulators that have pushed back against the $68.7 billion acquisition offer. Microsoft first proposed it in January 2022, and since then it has seen backlash and critical scrutiny from international regulatory bodies and watchdogs.
Most recently, Microsoft was served a lawsuit by the US Federal Trade Committee (FTC), which seeks to block the proposed acquisition. It is the most significant obstacle faced by the company in its attempts to purchase Activision Blizzard and its in-house titles, despite Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s repeated insistence that the acquisition would be “in the best interest of gamers”.
One of the main concerns raised by both Sony itself and the FTC is that by merging with Activision Blizzard, Microsoft might end up harming the gaming industry by negatively impacting its competitor’s ability to do business. The major example purported by Sony is that flagship Activision titles, like Call of Duty, might be pulled from the PS5 and made into first-party Xbox exclusives. An example is how upcoming
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