Let’s unpack Microsoft’s ‘desire’ to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Throughout the week, Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard has been a constant talking point. There’s been a lot of talk about Activision Blizzard games being exclusive to Xbox platforms once the acquisition completes and no concrete answers from Microsoft. While Xbox boss Phil Spencer has issued a new statement on the matter, what he had to say is anything but clear.

Image: Activision Blizzard

In a post to Twitter last night, Spencer said that he’s been in contact with the leadership at Sony to talk about the future of Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation. “Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony,” Spencer said. “I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.”

That seems pretty straightforward, but there’s actually a lot to unpack with this tweet. For starters, Spencer says something we already knew: that Microsoft will honor the contracts Sony already had in place with Activision Blizzard when the acquisition was announced. Of course, there has never really been any question that Microsoft would do that, considering that it made the same exact commitment when it purchased ZeniMax Media and its subsidiaries last year.

Image: Phil Spencer/Twitter

The interesting part comes after that when Spencer says that he’s expressed “our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.” While that sounds encouraging at first and may even suggest that Microsoft wants to continue releasing Call of Duty as multiplatform games, the use of the word “desire” could mean that Spencer has essentially put the ball in Sony’s court.

For instance, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Spencer is using Call of Duty as a bargaining chip to potentially get Xbox Game Pass on PlayStation consoles. Many times in the past, Spencer has suggested that Microsoft wants to get Xbox Game Pass on as many platforms as possible, though many of us expected Sony not to play ball in that regard. However, if allowing Xbox Game Pass on PlayStation is the only way to get Call of Duty games on the platform, then Sony might be persuaded.

Of course, given how much of a moneymaker the franchise is, there’s always the chance that Microsoft does truly plan to keep Call of Duty multiplatform with no strings attached. While anything is possible when it comes to matters that aren’t yet settled, we’re guessing that probably isn’t the route Microsoft is going to take. We’re certainly open to being wrong and having the big M surprise us, though.

It’s worth noting that we’re probably not going to get direct confirmation of Microsoft’s plans until after the Activision Blizzard acquisition is complete. That’s expected to happen sometime in Microsoft’s 2023 fiscal year, which kicks off in July 2022 and ends in June 2023. In the meantime, expect plenty more carefully-worded statements from Spencer and Activision Blizzard regarding exclusivity plans post-acquisition.