Sony begrudgingly signs 10-year deal with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

[Shawn Knight]

Editor's take: Sony's deal with Microsoft is likely the best case scenario given the current circumstances, but it is not failproof. Even with a multi-platform approach, there are ways to play favorites and make games like CoD more attractive on certain platforms. In the past, for example, we've seen major CoD DLC packs launch on preferred platforms up to one month early. Microsoft could also tinker with revenue splits on sales to put Sony on an uneven playing field.

Microsoft's $69 billion takeover bid of Activision was on track to be the company's largest acquisition to date when it was first announced in January 2022. Almost immediately, fear spread through the community that Microsoft might make future releases from popular franchises like Call of Duty exclusive to its own platforms. In that scenario, diehard CoD fans might ditch the PlayStation and move to Xbox or PC for their fix which would be problematic for Sony.

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. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.

– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 16, 2023

The acquisition prompted months of pushback from regulators over competition concerns. Microsoft pressed forward, insisting it planned to expand the franchise to even more platforms than it is available on today.

Redmond even inked decade-long Call of Duty distribution deals with Nvidia, Nintendo, and Boosteroid in an attempt to convince regulators that it was not interested in making the franchise a platform exclusive post acquisition. Microsoft also made it clear during this time that it wasn't interested in Activision if Call of Duty was not part of the package.

Related reading: 20 Years of Call of Duty

Following a recent victory against the FTC in federal court and UK regulators coming to the negotiating table, the matter seems all but settled. With all other options exhausted, Sony had little choice but to agree to Microsoft's 10-year deal to ensure Call of Duty does not leave the PlayStation anytime soon.

The next game in the long-running first-person shooter, a direct sequel to last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, is due out in November.

Image credit: Pixabay

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99425-sony-begrudgingly-signs-10-year-distribution-deal-microsoft.html

 

[The Talking Tech]

Sony had to bend the knee!

So much for Jim Ryan saying:

"I won't sign that deal"

 

[scavengerspc]

Ok. Why?
I'm a firm believer that in business, you share with those that share with you.

Sony has come clear on the opinion that sharing is for the other guys.
A very prick like policy.

 

[kira setsu]

Sony admitting they cant make a CoD competitor is what that is.

 

[m4a4]

Sony admitting they cant make a CoD competitor is what that is.

I mean, at best Sony is admitting they can't make a CoD competitor in such a short time to replace the over 1 billion in sales CoD currently pulls in for them...

 

[dangh]

That's only one ip - there are more which will be used in future subscriptions war. But we all already lost.

 

[Carlos GarPov]

Sony $$$

 

[Kashim]

Sony already won the console war, but it's never enough. They would much prefer an absolute and untouchable monopoly on console gaming. They don't really want to release any of their top games on other platforms yet they demand that every other company bring theirs to the Playstation platform in perpetuity.

Funny, because I actually used to like Sony back in the 90's when they were the new kid on the block. The market was dominated by Nintendo and Sega back then and it was refreshing to have a third contender enter the console race. Fast forward to today and all Sony wants to do is push everyone out of the market. They won't be happy until they manage to capture 90% of the market like Intel was doing with CPUs and just let the competition limp along just enough to avoid antitrust litigation.

I've come to view Sony as the Apple of the console world. Make everything proprietary and try to lock everyone into their ecosystem so they can't leave for another platform even if they tried. I'm no fan of Microsoft, not by a long shot, but it has come to the point where MS is now the lesser of two evils.

 

[scavengerspc]

Sony $$$

Agree. That's one of the few good things I can say about them.

I'm no fan of Microsoft, not by a long shot, but it has come to the point where MS is now the lesser of two evils.

Strictly from a business standpoint, Microsoft should leave the console business and do what they do, software. They could concentrate on PC and Game pass.

Of course then we would be back to relying heavily on Sony, and if Nintendo doesn't take the opportunity and boost the power of their systems, Sony would have a monopoly on high-end console gaming. And nobody in their right mind wants that.

 

[holydiver]

Sony already won the console war, but it's never enough. They would much prefer an absolute and untouchable monopoly on console gaming. They don't really want to release any of their top games on other platforms yet they demand that every other company bring theirs to the Playstation platform in perpetuity.

Funny, because I actually used to like Sony back in the 90's when they were the new kid on the block. The market was dominated by Nintendo and Sega back then and it was refreshing to have a third contender enter the console race. Fast forward to today and all Sony wants to do is push everyone out of the market. They won't be happy until they manage to capture 90% of the market like Intel was doing with CPUs and just let the competition limp along just enough to avoid antitrust litigation.

I've come to view Sony as the Apple of the console world. Make everything proprietary and try to lock everyone into their ecosystem so they can't leave for another platform even if they tried. I'm no fan of Microsoft, not by a long shot, but it has come to the point where MS is now the lesser of two evils.

You do realize that for example Nintendo is doing EXACTLY the same, right? In fact, it's even worse since games like Mario NEVER release on any other system. Yet there is no problem with Nintendo? Weird weird. All I see are haters.

 

[NumberSix]

Sony admitting they cant make a CoD competitor is what that is.

Guerrilla knocked out 5 Killzone games that were playable enough, dunno why Sony didn't just keep that franchise going.

 

[Nobina]

Sony admitting they cant make a CoD competitor is what that is.

They can copy COD and it still wouldn't be nearly as popular because it's not COD. Franchises like that are hard to topple. The game went to sht years ago and it still brings in $ like nothing else.

 

[Lounds]

CoD isn't even that good tbf. R6S, CSGO are infinitely better MP shooters.

 

[mrSister]

Sony has Killzone. They could create a new game base around the mutiplayer and be done with it. Of course, CoD sells base on the name alone so it would probaly be a flop so I guess the smart move is to ensure CoD remains availble in PS for the time being.

Now if only someone had the cojones to buy the Unreal Tournament IP from Epic (as they don't seem to care about it anymore) and revive the arena shooter genre, that would be something interesting.

 

[bviktor]

If there's still any doubt in anyone's mind if MS should be allowed to acquire Activision, some key metrics:

Biggest companies by gaming revenue:
- Sony: $28.2bn
- Microsoft: $16.2bn

8th gen console sales:
- Sony: 117m
- Microsoft: 58m

9th gen console sales:
- Sony: 39m
- Microsoft: 22m

Platform exclusives:
- Sony: 286
- Microsoft: 59

Biggest cloud providers by revenue (Sony is not a cloud provider per se):
- Amazon: $80bn
- Microsoft: $69bn

 

[opckieran]

You do realize that for example Nintendo is doing EXACTLY the same, right? In fact, it's even worse since games like Mario NEVER release on any other system. Yet there is no problem with Nintendo? Weird weird. All I see are haters.

But muh CD-I

Speaking of Nintendo, let’s not forget their extremely litigious nature, insane anti e-sports/streamer attitudes, horrendous backwards compatibility, 1-2 generations old network tech, terrible emulation efforts, and utter disdain towards their modding communities…