Xbox promised that it will honor the marketing contracts between PlayStation and the popular video game Call Of Duty “several more years”; However, Sony finds the agreement “inappropriate”, since the title will only be available three more years after the end of the relationship between PlayStation and the franchise, according to statements by the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan.
“Microsoft has only offered that Call Of Duty remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends,” Ryan explained in a statement, mentioning that the Xbox proposal has a direct negative impact on its players.
“After almost 20 years of Call Of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and did not take into account the impact on our players. We want to ensure that PlayStation users continue to have the highest quality Call Of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle,” Ryan wrote.
The Sony executive also pointed out that his intention was to keep this position private, however, he highlighted the fact that Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, made public statements about it, which did not meet PlayStation’s expectations.
At the end of last week, Spencer noted that Microsoft’s offer “goes well beyond typical gaming industry deals,” but it’s not something Ryan was happy with.
A few weeks ago, the Japanese company expressed concern about the fact that at some point Call Of Duty left its platform, and that is that its presence in the system usually influences the purchase decision of consumers.
Regarding the possibility of creating a game of similar proportions, the company ruled it out, since it would require an investment of “hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs”. In addition, it would have a hard time going up against a franchise as well positioned as COD, according to industry analysts.
From Microsoft they have mentioned that they would not keep the exclusivity of the game, since it would not have the same success only on Microsoft platforms, either on Xbox consoles, or on the Game Pass subscription service.
Xbox called PlayStation’s concerns “unwarranted,” commenting that not distributing such popular games on rival consoles “just wouldn’t be profitable.” Even Spencer himself has said that the strategy of exclusivity in video games has no place in the future of the industry.
Currently, the purchase agreement between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft for 68.7 billion dollars is being reviewed by regulators in various parts of the world, with the purpose of identifying whether it does not undermine competition.
Last week, the UK Competition and Markets Authority launched its own investigation into whether Microsoft’s control of major franchises, such as Call Of Duty or World of Warcraft, could hurt competitors.
