While we may have all suspected this was probably the case, Microsoft, as part of its ongoing effort to get its acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved, has revealed that Sony has been blocking Call of Duty from coming to Game Pass, and may continue to block it even if the deal ultimately goes through.
As part of yet another document detailing Microsoft’s case to the UK’s CMA that Sony isn’t on a level playing field with all this, they said the following about the current deal between Sony and Activision Blizzard:
“The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty title on Game Pass for a number of years.”
This is significant, because this is part of the deal that Phil Spencer was referencing when he said Microsoft had the “intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard.”
Some reporting indicates that this old Sony-Activision deal will last into 2024, so what that means in practice is that even if Microsoft does acquire Activision Blizzard, they have committed to the public, Sony and regulators that not only will they not rip Call of Duty off PlayStation, but that they won’t even give themselves an advantage by putting Call of Duty on Game Pass for that period of time.
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What is not clear is the contents of the additional deal that Phil Spencer says he worked out with Sony, which Jim Ryan deemed “unsatisfactory” and said it was only for three years. It may be that Spencer just promised that Call of Duty would not go exclusive within that time frame, as I have a very hard time believing that Spencer would commit to three additional years of Call of Duty games not being on Game Pass. That would seem somewhat untenable, albeit not impossible, with this latest reveal, I suppose. This would make the Call of Duty series an extremely standout exception to Microsoft’s overall Game Pass plans, where pretty much every first party game they launch or currently own ends up going to the service. The main draw of this Activision Blizzard deal in the first place for Xbox is likely the ability to put games like Call of Duty and Diablo 4 directly on Game Pass.
But that’s not currently possible, and Microsoft has agreed it will not be possible at least for another year or so. I do wonder about the fine print of the Spencer-Ryan deal and whether Game Pass was a sticking point that made Spencer satisfied with it but has made Ryan grumpy. Keep in mind this is what Ryan said after Spencer started talking publicly about the deal:
“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”
That seems like it’s focused on exclusivity, rather than Call of Duty arriving on Game Pass during that window, which is not mentioned at all. Spencer has previously talked about Call of Duty coming to Game Pass, but now we know that essentially cannot be until Sony’s current deal ends. The new deal? That’s the real question, but I have a feeling Microsoft is only willing to give Sony so much here.
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