'We're not taking Call of Duty from PlayStation' says Microsoft's Phil Spencer
Microsoft's CEO of Gaming reiterates that its takeover of Activision Blizzard isn't about 'pulling communities off other platforms'
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Call of Duty on PlayStation
🗣️ Xbox boss Phil Spencer has reiterated the company’s stance on Call of Duty exclusivity
🤞 Spencer says that Call of Duty will always come to PlayStation, as long as there’s a console to ship to
🤝 Microsoft is still in the regulatory process for its $69bn Activision Blizzard deal
📆 Spencer is confident in the deal closing and believes it should be done by June 2023
Microsoft’s CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer has attempted to assuage fears once again that Call of Duty will not become an Xbox exclusive in the future.
Speaking on the Same Brain podcast, Spencer promised that the blockbuster first-person shooter will come to PlayStation platforms “as long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to” and said he’s confident the pending $68bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be completed.
When asked whether the Activision Blizzard deal will stop games coming to PlayStation and segregate a huge portion of gamers, Spencer quickly addressed Call of Duty specifically.
“Yeah, we’re not taking Call of Duty from PlayStation. I know that isn’t exactly what you asked, but just to punch that one in the nose. That’s not our intent. Our intent is not to do that,” said Spencer. “As long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to, our intent is that we continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation, similar to what we’ve done with Minecraft since we’ve owned that. We’ve expanded the places where people can play Minecraft.”
So what benefits will Xbox gamers see, specifically, from the Activision deal?
“For players who have invested in our console, I think the biggest addition that you’re gonna see is some great games coming to Xbox Game Pass,” Spencer explains. “This isn’t going to be about pulling communities off other platforms.”
Spencer also shed some more light on why he’s excited about the Activision deal going through and outlined Microsoft’s vision for putting Xbox on as many screens and devices as possible.
“They just have skills that we don’t have,” says Spencer. “Definitely, as we were talking about platforms, they’ve done so much on mobile that we’ve never done.”
Spencer also teased that we could see classic Activision Blizzard franchises be revived in the future, but didn’t mention any titles specifically.
“When I think about the back catalog at places like Blizzard and Activision, I think there’s just an incredible treasure trove of games to go look at.” New Guitar Hero anyone?
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal continues to be scrutinized by regulators, and Sony is pushing back hard against the takeover. Sony really doesn’t want Microsoft to own Call of Duty, and the row between the companies over what’s fair has gotten rather ugly.
The UK’s competition regulator, the CMA, is particularly concerned about the Activision Blizzard acquisition and is undergoing a second investigation phase. However, Saudi Arabia and Brazil both approved the $68.7bn acquisition.