Call of Duty On PlayStation: Sony Agrees To 10-year Deal With Microsoft

Now that Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard is only a little in the way, Sony is also giving in. The Japanese accept a 10-year deal from Redmond and ensure the continued existence of the popular Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation consoles.

Agreement Reached

Fearing that Microsoft might consider Call of Duty as a future Xbox exclusive, Sony has posed as its archrival against the $69 billion deal for the past few months. Now that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is imminent, the PlayStation inventor is taking advantage of the door Microsoft still keeps open for long-term cooperation as confirmed.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Microsoft, and Sony are entering into a “binding agreement” to keep current and upcoming Call of Duty games on the PlayStation. “We look forward to a future where gamers around the world have more choices to play the games they love,” said Spencer. Microsoft’s Xbox communications director, Kari Perez, announced the 10-year commitment to The Verge.

Sony, Nintendo, and Nvidia all are happy

In January, the deal was still on the Japanese table in a different form. Originally, Microsoft offered to get all existing Activision games for consoles on PlayStation systems until the end of 2027, including upcoming Call of Duty titles. With the exclusive focus on Call of Duty, Sony now accepted for ten instead of just four to five years, which should end the feud between the two companies.

In February, Nintendo accepted a similar deal to be ported to Microsoft and Activision Blizzard titles, specifically Call of Duty, over the next decade. A few days later, an agreement was reached with Nvidia and other providers of cloud gaming services, not only to ensure game streaming via Xbox Game Pass, but also for competitors.

The takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is currently approaching the final phase. The appeal by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is still pending, and its request for urgency was denied. Last but not least, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is putting obstacles in the way of the Redmond company, which, however, could already be cleared up this Monday.