Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wants to ‘keep Call of Duty on PlayStation’

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Microsoft might keep Call of Duty multi platform.

The photo was taken by Vjeran Pavic.

Some of the biggest questions have been about the future of the Call of Duty franchise, which is a big hit on both the PS and XBOX consoles, because of Microsoft's massive deal to acquire Activision. Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft gaming, thinks that the Call of Duty series will continue on Sony platforms if the acquisition goes through.

Spencer said he had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. We want to keep Call of Duty on the PS3 and I confirmed our intent to honor existing agreements. We value our relationship with Sony.

I had good calls this week with Sony leaders. I confirmed that we would honor all existing agreements after the acquisition of Call of Duty. We value our relationship with Sony.
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Phil Spencer is on XBOXP3.

Call of Duty could still become an exclusive franchise for the Xbox. Microsoft has shown a willingness to turn its acquisitions into exclusives: it is planning to release the upcoming game Starfield only on the Xbox and PC, and Spencer has indicated that The Elder Scrolls VI will be the same. It would make sense to use that approach to beef up its Game Pass subscription service.

Spencer might not want to do that with Call of Duty. He has been willing to keep Microsoft-owned franchises multi platform before, for example, when he was willing to keep Mojang after it acquired it. Microsoft has released a new version of the game on a number of platforms.

Sony shared a statement with The Wall Street Journal. A Sony spokesman told the publication that they expect Microsoft to abide by contractual agreements. Information from an FAQ that was sent to employees this week is also in line with statements from Spencer and Sony. According to the FAQ, we will honor all existing commitments after close. We have no intention of removing any content from platforms where it exists today.

The acquisition is not expected to close until the end of Microsoft's fiscal year in June 2023. It seems more likely that Call of Duty games will still come to your Sony console if Microsoft eventually joins.