Microsoft wants to 'keep Call of Duty on PlayStation,' Phil Spencer says

pcgamer.com:

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard triggered a certain amount of nervous sweat among PlayStation-owning Call of Duty fans. Would Call of Duty releases in some not-too-distant future become Xbox exclusive? The prospect wasn't beyond belief: Both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 were made console exclusives—that is, they'll be released on Xbox and PC—after Microsoft acquired Bethesda Softworks last year.

Until now, Microsoft has only said that it will «honor all existing commitments» to other platform holders after the acquisition is complete, and that «we have no intent to remove any content from platforms where it exists today.» In a tweet posted this afternoon, however, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was more explicit—about the Call of Duty series, at least.

Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.January 20, 2022

«Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony,» he tweeted. «I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.»

That's good news for the Call of Duty community, and not terribly surprising I don't think. Bethesda RPG's are once-a-decade games, while the Call of Duty series is, for now at least, an annual event, making it a major, regular revenue stream—and that's not taking into account Warzone, the live game battle royale. Cutting that off just to hose a competitor on hardware sales doesn't make any