Microsoft and Sony agree on deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation after Activision merger

After Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in January 2022, the company extended an offer to Sony to ensure that Call of Duty remains on PlayStation. The offer started off as a multi-year deal but eventually grew into a ten-year deal. So far, Sony has refused to sign the offer, instead opting to try and stop the merger from happening entirely. With the acquisition looking set to go through, Sony has now finally signed. 

Today, Microsoft announced that Sony has signed a contract with Microsoft to ensure Call of Duty remains on PlayStation consoles for the next ten years at least. It marks a huge change in attitude, moving away from attempts to work with regulators to stop the acquisition in its tracks to instead playing ball with Microsoft.

We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 16, 2023

This immediately deals another blow to the FTC, which centred its whole case against the Microsoft-Activision deal around the harm it could do to PlayStation by removing titles like Call of Duty. That theory of harm no longer holds much weight with this deal now in place.

We are still unclear on the status of other games from Activision's library. Some future titles from other franchises may well end up being Xbox exclusive. However, with the FTC still intending to present a case against Microsoft in its in-house court later this year, and the CMA still working with Microsoft on new remedies to get the deal approved, we are likely to see Activision remain somewhat independent under Microsoft for the time being.

While Microsoft could close the acquisition as early as Monday, doing so now would be in defiance of the CMA's earlier block. With the CMA now reevaluating its position based on new proposals from Microsoft, we are more likely to see a short-term extension to the deadline of the deal, allowing everything to be done properly without angering any government agencies. The CMA's new investigation could last into August, but the regulator has also stated that it wants to finalise a new decision before its new August 26th deadline.

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KitGuru Says: It looks like the FTC's failure to secure an injunction was the final straw here. Sony is now on board and will happily take a cut of Call of Duty sales well into the future. 

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