Sony’s marketing deal with Call of Duty may last until 2026

Microsoft’s surprise purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion shook the video games industry in many ways, leading to a number of secondary and knock-on effects. One of these pertains to PlayStation’s existing relationship with Call of Duty. With Microsoft promising to honour all previously inked contracts, it seems as though PlayStation might be promoting Call of Duty all the way until 2026.

In the wake of the announcement that Microsoft would be acquiring Activision Blizzard, one of the immediate questions which sprung up was what this meant for the publisher’s biggest franchise: Call of Duty.

Since 2014, PlayStation has had exclusive marketing deals with Call of Duty, inextricably linking the franchise to the PlayStation brand (while also including some PlayStation-exclusive content).

According to industry insider Tom Henderson, while we do not know the full details of the contract between Sony and Activision regarding Call of Duty, the deal – which was formed long before the acquisition announcement – is said to be valid for the next 3 games.

This means that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Warzone 2, and the currently unannounced next COD game from Treyarch will all fall under these previously signed contracts and so will still see certain ‘PlayStation Advantages’ alongside the exclusive marketing.

As mentioned, the exact specificities of the deal between the two companies is unknown. It is entirely possible that the contract prevents COD from being added to non-Sony subscription services. After all, many Call of Duty games in the past have eventually found their way onto PlayStation Plus.

Again, very little is actually known about the deal between Sony and Activision. What we do know however is that by 2026 at the very latest, Call of Duty should be firmly under the control of Microsoft – assuming the acquisition does go through with no issues.

KitGuru says: What do you think of marketing deals such as these? Are they good or bad for the industry? Do you think Microsoft will make Call of Duty better, worse, or will it stay the same? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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