Sony calls Microsoft offer to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three extra years "inadequate"

[midian182]

A hot potato: PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has responded to Microsoft's offer to keep the Call of Duty series available on the PlayStation for three years after Activision's contract with Sony comes to an end. Far from being happy about the commitment, Ryan says it is "inadequate on many levels."

Xbox boss Phil Spencer last week said that Microsoft is committed to keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation for several more years beyond the current deal Sony has with Activision, which covers the series' next three releases, including October's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

The comments came after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority regulator expressed concerns over Microsoft "withholding or degrading" Activision Blizzard content from other consoles or subscription services if the $68.7 billion acquisition goes through.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, PlayStation boss Ryan expressed his dismay at Spencer speaking publicly about the deal. "I hadn't intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum," said Ryan.

"Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft's proposal undermines this principle."

Fears of what could happen to Activision Blizzard's games in the wake of Microsoft's acquisition have been around from the beginning. Confirmation that the next three games in the series would be released on the platform came in January, but there has been little word on what will happen to the wildly popular franchise's PlayStation existence once the contract expires.

Fun Fact:

Sony was Activision Blizzard's largest customer in 2020 accounting for 17% of it sales or ~$1.37 billion.

Microsoft was Activision Blizzard's 4th largest customer in 2020, behind Apple and Google, accounting for 11% of its sales or ~$890m pic.twitter.com/9dlm6vhDhA

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 7, 2022

Some vague non-exclusivity promises from Microsoft arrived in February, but Sony last month voiced concerns to Brazil's competition regulator about what might happen to PlayStation titles like CoD if the acquisition is approved. Microsoft's defense was to deny its purchase would damage the industry, accuse Sony of being afraid of Game Pass, and call the company hypocritical in light of its own exclusivity deals.

Sony also believes that if another studio made a game similar to CoD, it wouldn't replicate the long-running shooter's success, given Call of Duty's dedicated and extensive fan base. The Japanese giant also stands to lose a lot of money if CoD does eventually disappear from the PlayStation as the series is one of the largest sources of revenue from third-party publishers on the platform.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/95907-sony-calls-microsoft-offer-keep-call-duty-playstation.html

 

[SirDigby]

Does CoD still have the same kinda pull and reputation that it did 10 years ago?

 

[George Keech]

Does CoD still have the same kinda pull and reputation that it did 10 years ago?

I keep thinking this - its surely going to die soon - or at lease be taken over by Warzone itself

 

[dangh]

Does CoD still have the same kinda pull and reputation that it did 10 years ago?

It kinda does, obviously with positions like Fortnite it lost many younger players, but even with that it is money machine. That's a very strong IP, which doesn't have any close 'real' competitor. Battlefield tries but can't hit the same vibe.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Does CoD still have the same kinda pull and reputation that it did 10 years ago?

"At any given time, the number [active player count] sits between 250,000 and 500,000 depending on the time of day and when there’s new content."

 

[gigantor21]

It kinda does, obviously with positions like Fortnite it lost many younger players, but even with that it is money machine. That's a very strong IP, which doesn't have any close 'real' competitor. Battlefield tries but can't hit the same vibe.

Yeah, its not the undisputed king anymore but it's still at or near the top of sales charts like clockwork every year.

CoD has many years and many billions of dollars left to make before it falls off completely. If it ever does.

 

[Fearghast]

Oh, Sony and complaining about exclusives ... that's chefs kiss level of irony.

 

[Carlos GarPov]

Oh, Sony and complaining about exclusives ... that's chefs kiss level of irony.

sooooo right!

 

[hahahanoobs]

CoD sales are a huge chunk of revenue including the microtransactions for Sony. GTA comes every 5+ years, LOU and Drake are probably done, so Sony wouldn't have a ton to fall back on if they lose CoD.

That loss could hurt gaming overall, if it makes PS5 unattractive to buyers. Curious to see how this plays out.

Tl;dr Losing CoD could seriously harm the PlayStation.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I didn't read the article, but based on the title of it you can take things multiple ways:

Sony is upset MS is pulling the game after 3 years.

OR

Sony saying that CoD is inadequate and they're pissed MS is forcing them to keep the game on their system for 3 more years.


I'd like to think it's the latter of the two.

 

[defaultluser]

Microsoft's holding games hostage doesn't piss me off as a PC gamer.

either way , I still get my games.

if I had to guess, they'll make cod limited exclusive to encourage xbox, then maintain that dominant number-one uberbase

 

[passwordistaco]

Sony is running to any nation's regulators that will listen to whine that:

1. Their subscription service sucks.
2. They're too incompetent to make a COD clone.

Sack up and quit crying, Sony. Git gud. It's ONE damned game. If your platform would fail from losing it, you're doing it wrong.

 

[m4a4]

He's not going to say what the agreement length was before adding 3 years? Yeah, don't think I'll be taking this too seriously...

 

[kira setsu]

Sony has some the most technically gifted studios in existence under their banner and can't make an FPS game? thats sad is what it is.

killzone, resistance, mag,...they could easily bankroll a top tier experience and lock it down on playstation just to spite microsoft but they'd rather cry, whine and rehash tlou again.

they legit have bungie who made Halo and still dont know what to do, thats honestly shameful.

 

[passwordistaco]

Sony has some the most technically gifted studios in existence under their banner and can't make an FPS game? thats sad is what it is.

killzone, resistance, mag,...they could easily bankroll a top tier experience and lock it down on playstation just to spite microsoft but they'd rather cry, whine and rehash tlou again.

they legit have bungie who made Halo and still dont know what to do, thats honestly shameful.

Excellent point - MS didn't make a peep when Sony bought Bungie.

 

[kira setsu]

Excellent point - MS didn't make a peep when Sony bought Bungie.

probably because they either didn't care or know sony won't utilize them to create a threat.

if I was a boss at playstation I'd revive mag, and give it and a blank check to bungie, and tell them to crush CoD

 

[BigRedPDX]

Just as long as Rocket League exists I'll be fine. Call of Duty hasn't been my main gave for over a decade now. I own them, but I don't really have any drive to play them.

 

[texasrattler]

Excellent point - MS didn't make a peep when Sony bought Bungie.

Cause MS don't care. They have the Halo rights. That's was the deal with Bungie, you can go but Halo is ours. Bungie agreed.

 

[texasrattler]

Just as long as Rocket League exists I'll be fine. Call of Duty hasn't been my main gave for over a decade now. I own them, but I don't really have any drive to play them.

Millions do. But for Sony it's probably a Billion loss if they don't have CoD and they know it.

 

[Shaitan]

1. Sony started the woke trend on consoles and they created that atrocious TLOU2. Also, they censored a ton of stuff. Ok. Not buying their sh!t. EVER.
2. They inflated the price of their console just now.
3. They used the MTX to inflate the car prices for Gran Turismo 7.
Yup, nothing to see here, folks. move on. Let them rot and die.

 

[bviktor]

Lol as if Microsoft owes them anything. 3 years isn't enough? Then how about 0 years? Will that be adequate? Who the hell cares what Sony thinks? It's none of their business.

 

[EdmondRC]

Sony failed to see that the console war was ending and the platform wars were the future. That has left them in an unfortunate position. MS is using its capital to purchase as many big studios as they can for the "Netflix" model of gaming. It's going to be interesting, but my hope is that a new crop of independent studios will spring up. It is highly doubtful because they'll just get bought the first decent game they produce.

 

[Puiu]

Sony failed to see that the console war was ending and the platform wars were the future. That has left them in an unfortunate position. MS is using its capital to purchase as many big studios as they can for the "Netflix" model of gaming. It's going to be interesting, but my hope is that a new crop of independent studios will spring up. It is highly doubtful because they'll just get bought the first decent game they produce.

Nobody wants the "netflix" of gaming. Having a choice where to buy a game is what people want. It's why epic's store is so hated.

 

[EdmondRC]

Nobody wants the "netflix" of gaming. Having a choice where to buy a game is what people want. It's why epic's store is so hated.

I did not have Epic in mind when I wrote this, but Game Pass, which is actually very popular. Microsoft, shortly after buying some of the largest developers in the world, quickly dropped their games on Game Pass to bolster its library. MS obviously wants the premier monthly subscription service for games. Sony is now working on their own version of Game Pass, but it's going to be quite the uphill battle.

 

[Puiu]

I did not have Epic in mind when I wrote this, but Game Pass, which is actually very popular. Microsoft, shortly after buying some of the largest developers in the world, quickly dropped their games on Game Pass to bolster its library. MS obviously wants the premier monthly subscription service for games. Sony is now working on their own version of Game Pass, but it's going to be quite the uphill battle.

Yes, it will definitely be an uphill battle.