Microsoft guarantees to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation for so long as PlayStation exists

“We’re not taking Call of Duty from PlayStation” is the message from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer this week. Spencer has lately been discussing the way forward for Call of Duty if the Activision acquisition clears, and he’s made his clearest feedback but in a brand new podcast interview with YouTubers Justine and Jenna Ezarik.

“As long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to, our intent is that we continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation,” says Spencer on the Same Brain podcast. “Similar to what we’ve done with Minecraft, since we’ve owned that, we’ve expanded the places people can play Minecraft. We haven’t reduced the places, and it’s been good for the Minecraft community in my opinion, and I want to do the same as we think about where Call of Duty can go.”

While there’s been a public back-and-forth over the way forward for Call of Duty between Sony and Microsoft, Spencer has in contrast Call of Duty to Minecraft twice lately. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s tech conference final week, Spencer additionally hinted at plans to carry Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch to deal with the franchise like Minecraft and maintain it on rival platforms.

“Call of Duty specifically will be available on PlayStation,” mentioned Spencer. “I’d love to see it on the Switch, I’d love to see the game playable on many different screens. Our intent is to treat Call of Duty like Minecraft.”

Call of Duty followers have been debating whether or not Microsoft would make the sport unique to Xbox ever for the reason that information of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion Activision acquisition broke earlier this yr. Spencer was fast to publicly say Microsoft had a “desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation,” however a written dedication to Sony wasn’t sufficient to stop considerations from the PlayStation maker.

After The Verge revealed final month that Spencer made a written dedication to PlayStation head Jim Ryan earlier this yr to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation for “several more years” past the prevailing advertising and marketing deal Sony has with Activision, Sony labeled Microsoft’s provide “inadequate on many levels.” 

Microsoft additionally says conserving Call of Duty on PlayStation is a “commercial imperative for the Xbox business and the economics of the transaction” in filings to the UK competitors regulator. Microsoft says it could put income in danger if it pulled Call of Duty from PlayStation and that “Microsoft has been clear that it is counting on revenues from the distribution of Activision Blizzard games on Sony PlayStation.”