Microsoft reiterated its commitment to continue releasing call to action and other Activision Blizzard franchises for the PlayStation platform, even after existing contractual agreements ended – ending concerns that arose after the announcement that Microsoft plans to buy Activision Blizzard.
Brad Smith, president and vice president of Microsoft, said in a blog post published on Wednesday that the company has committed to Sony that future Activision titles will release on PlayStation in addition to existing agreements, and extended a similar promise to Nintendo.
“First, some commentators have asked if we will continue to make popular content like Activision’s Call of Duty available on competing platforms like Sony’s PlayStation,” Smith said.
“The obvious concern is that Microsoft may make this title available exclusively on the Xbox console, undermining opportunities for Sony PlayStation users.
“To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation for the term of any existing agreement with Activision.
“And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation in addition to the existing contract and in the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love.
“We are also interested in taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform. We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for the players and for our business.”
Analysis: a bigger commitment
Microsoft’s commitments here follow comments made by Xbox boss Phil Spencer after the announcement of the proposed acquisition. They also line up comments made by Sonywho said he hoped Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard titles would continue to release on PlayStation.
Smith’s comments go beyond previous statements, however, revealing Microsoft’s intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation even though. after existing contractual agreements between Activision Blizzard and Sony have ended. This is the first time that Microsoft has explicitly stated that it intends to do so.
This will no doubt alleviate the concerns of PlayStation fans who have wondered if they could play future Call of Duty games on their console of choice.
