Sony admits defeat and signs Microsoft deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation
Sony has seemingly recognized the inevitability of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard going through, and has signed an agreement with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty available on PlayStation for the next 10 years.
The news was announced on Sunday by Microsoft’s gaming head Phil Spencer. “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” Spencer tweeted. “We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.”
A Microsoft spokesperson subsequently confirmed to The Verge that the deal would last for a term of 10 years, and covers Call of Duty only — not any other Activision Blizzard games. That puts it on a par with agreements Microsoft had previously signed with Nintendo, Nvidia, and others.
Microsoft president Brad Smith also commented, saying, “From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”
The signing of the deal marks the end of a long stalemate, during which Microsoft made repeated, public offers to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, while Sony dismissed these and instead attempted to use its leverage with regulators to sink Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard completely. “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger,” PlayStation boss Jim Ryan reportedly told Activision executives on the day of a meeting
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