They say that when one door closes, another one opens. Unfortunately, the inverse is also true. So, while Call of Duty will continue to have a multi-platform presence for at least another decade, we can’t say the same for the rest of the Activision Blizzard library. The deal, as confirmed by Microsoft and Sony, may exclude the other games that fall under the massive $70 billion-dollar umbrella.
Microsoft recently confirmed it signed a binding agreement to keep the Call of Duty franchise available on PlayStation platforms. The details of the deal remain unclear at the moment. It’s presumed the length of the contract will remain as the previous offer.
However, the surprising part about the final agreement is that it resembles the one given by Microsoft to Nintendo – it only commits to bringing Call of Duty to PlayStation.
A noteworthy aspect of the agreement is that Microsoft is not contractually obligated to release any other Activision game on the PlayStation platform. This means that the release of other Activision games on PlayStation may hinge on a case-by-case basis, based on factors beneficial to Microsoft. This conditional situation could result in some franchises traditionally associated with PlayStation, like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, falling off the PlayStation platform, leading to exclusive availability on Xbox.
Gamers are naturally worried about the fate of their favorite franchises. Loyal fans of the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro as well as Tony Hawk, and Overwatch are finding it hard to digest that the games they’ve come to love, many of which have a long-standing association with PlayStation, may become Xbox exclusives in the future.
The internet is understandably reacting to the perceived monopoly Xbox will have in gaming with some expressing dissatisfaction over franchises being absorbed by a company that already owns a colossal portfolio of blockbuster gaming franchises. Don’t forget that Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media because they didn’t want Starfield to go to Sony. Bethesda may have justified the exclusivity of Starfield on the Xbox platform, but this still sets a precedent for Microsoft gatekeeping new releases. And, before you say that this only applies to “unproven IPs”, The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 may follow suit.
Activision Blizzard, as previously mentioned, is a huge company – one of the biggest in the world, in fact. The likes of StarCraft, WarCraft, and Diablo, all belong under the same roof. So, while PlayStation ensured that Call of Duty stayed on its platforms, the deal doesn’t cover a who’s who of the properties belonging to Activision Blizzard that Microsoft will now own.
There is, however, a silver lining. Nintendo might be the king of first-party exclusives, but PlayStation isn’t far behind. Not to mention, the profitability and the historic dominance of PlayStation sales for multiplatform releases means that it makes financial sense for Microsoft to continue releasing certain games on PlayStation. But, that’s the problem – their arrival on the PlayStation 5 and future iterations of arguably the strongest brand in gaming is no longer guaranteed.
Of course, this could be much ado about nothing or an illicit negative – a formal fallacy where negative premises result in positive conclusions. Just because Call of Duty isn’t exclusive, doesn’t mean that other franchises will be.
At this point, this discussion is mere speculation based on the available information online, rather than confirmed facts.
For now, the only sure thing is that we’re all waiting on Microsoft to become the official owners of Activision Blizzard.
