Next three Call of Duty games will release on PlayStation – but what happens then?
Is Xbox exclusivity inevitable?
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FollowingMicrosoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, sources who claim to have inside information say that the next threeCall of Dutygames are slated to release for PlayStation as well as Xbox consoles.
Four anonymous insiders toldBloombergthat Activision had already committed to these releases beforehand.
The three games in question are this year’s title (believed to be a sequel to 2019’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare), the next COD game after that (presumably fromBlack Ops Cold Warstudio Treyarch), and a new iteration of the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone.
Xbox head Phil Spencerhad previously said “ActivisionBlizzardgames are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward” in response to concerns of Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive.
He later unambiguously confirmed that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation in a Twitter post, adding “Sonyis an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.”
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
What comes next?
It’s possible thatMicrosoftwouldn’t make Call of Duty an exclusive, since the series has traditionally sold better on PlayStation consoles – meaning potential profits would be lost if it came to Xbox only.
However, Bloomberg’s sources say they have no idea what Microsoft’s plans for Call of Duty will be after those three games.
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It’s entirely possible that these pre-established agreements are the only things keeping it on PlayStation, meaning that Microsoft will see no reason to extend them or agree to a new deal.
Microsoft’s promise of not depriving PlayStation owners of certain Activision games is very similar to what it said afterbuying out Bethesda, too.
Since that acquisition, though, the likes ofStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6, which had been presumed to release forPS5beforehand, are now slated only for Xbox consoles.
Making Call of Duty Xbox only would certainly be an extremely unpopular move among the PlayStation community and generate quite the backlash. But the possibility probably won’t deter Microsoft in the slightest since it would only encourage more people to invest in an Xbox console.
Michael is a freelance writer with bylines at the Metro, TechRaptor, and Game Rant. A Computer Games Design and Creative Writing graduate, he’s been passionate about video games since the Game Boy Color, particularly Nintendo games, with Xenoblade Chronicles being his favorite game ever. Despite everything, he’s still a Sonic the Hedgehog fan.
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