Game On: Microsoft signs agreement to release Call of Duty on competitor consoles

This month, U.S. legal attempts to block Microsoft’s impending $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard have failed not once, but twice. The Federal Trade Commission’s injunction to halt the merger was denied by a federal district court judge on July 11, and on July 18 the Supreme Court rejected an emergency injunction filed by lawyer Joseph Alioto representing a group of concerned gamers.

While the companies have failed to close the deal by the merger agreement’s original July 18 deadline, the acquisition is looking almost inevitable now. The only remaining hurdle is the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, which issued a decision last year to stop the deal on grounds that it is anti-competitive. Microsoft and the CMA recently agreed to pause their legal battle for now.

In the meantime, this week Microsoft and Sony signed a binding agreement to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation for the next 10 years. Microsoft signed a very similar agreement with Nintendo back in February, which is noteworthy given Call of Duty’s spotty history on Nintendo platforms.

Microsoft President Brad Smith claimed the contract was “part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles to more players on more platforms.” This assertion is reasonable considering the corporation’s acquisition of Minecraft developer Mojang in 2014.

At the time, gamers were understandably concerned that Microsoft would drop support for Minecraft outside of Xbox and Windows PC. Instead, Microsoft actually expanded the game to release on even more platforms, ensuring parity and implementing online cross-play between all versions with the “Bedrock Edition” of the game – all free of charge for existing Minecraft players.

That’s not to say Microsoft can’t implement strong-arm tactics in the future to try and convert more gamers to the Xbox platform, but their recent actions have been relatively trustworthy.

Even Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, isn’t worried about that aspect of the merger. In an email unsealed during June’s FTC vs. Microsoft hearing, he stated the deal “is not an exclusivity play at all. They’re thinking bigger than that and they have the cash to make moves like this.”

While Call of Duty’s cross-platform existence is guaranteed, neither the agreement with Nintendo or Sony makes mention of numerous other Activision-Blizzard games – Overwatch, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, to name just a few.

Ironically, since the mid-’90s Crash and Spyro have been viewed as Sony mascots. It’s been bizarre enough to see those IPs grace the Xbox and Nintendo Switch – if they become exclusive to Microsoft platforms, heads will reel.

It’s tough to predict whether hat will happen. Following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media in early 2021, the corporation has continued to support existing franchises on platforms outside of Xbox and Windows PC, but they’ve been all too happy to make new IPs Redfall and Starfield exclusive to Microsoft.

Regarding Starfield’s exclusivity, however, Ryan admitted in a legal deposition, “I don’t like it but I don’t view it as anticompetitive.” It’s a sensible stance considering Sony’s strategy for over a decade has been to heavily advertise their PlayStation-exclusive titles. In years past, Sony has also made numerous deals with publishers to make games and content unique to PlayStation.

For that reason, it’s hard to feel much sympathy for Sony in this situation. Those accusing Microsoft of being dishonorable for throwing money around buying up publishers rather than growing game studios from the ground up seem to have forgotten that Sony has often done the same.

But platform exclusivity will likely prove to be a sideshow. The CMA estimates that Microsoft currently controls around 60 to 70 percent of cloud gaming services. Ryan, the CMA and the FTC are all in agreement that Microsoft is making a long play to dominate cloud gaming – which doesn’t draw many customers now, but likely will in the years to come.

With only one remaining obstacle between Microsoft and its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the deal is almost inevitable now. Only time will tell what the ramifications will be.