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Microsoft confirms new 10-year Call of Duty deal for Sony

Smith described Sony as being "as excited about this deal as Blockbuster was about the rise of Netflix."


Microsoft Year Call Of Duty Deal Sony
The Call of Duty franchise has sold over 425 million units in two decades.

It's no secret that one of Microsoft's primary drivers behind the Activision Blizzard buyout is to get its hands on Call of Duty. But, while most of us assume that is so Microsoft can make Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox platform, it appears this isn't the case.

As we've learned over the course of the past year, Microsoft doesn't believe that exclusivity is in the best interest of Call of Duty, or the gaming community. The tech giant has described the move as "economically irrational" and "disastrous to the Call of Duty franchise and Xbox itself." It's even come to the point that Microsoft has given Sony a fairly generous offer just to convince its rival that Call of Duty isn't going exclusive anytime soon.

In late November, Microsoft reportedly offered Sony a ten-year contract to make Call of Duty available on PlayStation platforms. Just days later, a separate report doubled down on this claim, saying Microsoft is willing to make concessions to make the acquisition happen.

Now, Microsoft president Brad Smith has confirmed that such an offer exists.

Here's what Smith had to say in an op-ed to The Wall Street Journal:

We've offered Sony a ten-year contract to make each new Call of Duty release available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox. We're open to providing the same commitment to other platforms and making it legally enforceable by regulators in the US, UK, and European Union.

TLDR; This is Microsoft telling all the regulators and Sony that it's willing to do everything it can, within reason, to get this deal over the line.

Microsoft Year Call Of Duty Deal Sony
Ten years is a long time for Sony to at least find an alternative to Call of Duty once it becomes exclusive to Call of Duty platforms.

Regulators in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia, approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion. Meanwhile, the UK, EU, and the United States FTC are all busy deliberating if they should approve the deal or not.

So far, we've learned plenty from the inquiries done by regulatory bodies into the Activision Blizzard purchase. For example, we know that Microsoft expects Grand Theft Auto 6 to be out by 2024. Finally, it's revealed that Sony might release the PlayStation 6 by 2028.


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Ray Ampoloquio

Ray Ampoloquio // Articles: 5947

Ray is a lifelong gamer with a nose for keeping up with the latest news in and out of the gaming industry. When he's not reading, writing, editing, and playing video games, he builds and repairs computers in his spare time.
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