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Who recalls the dark days of the console wars? It was a bleak time. Xbox and PlayStation owners would argue incessantly over which console was better while Nintendo folks sat on the sidelines watching with their popcorn. Thankfully, we’ve evolved since then - somewhat. While us console owners may now be in agreement that we love all of our children equally, Sony and Microsoft cannot stop squabbling between themselves.
As I’m sure you’re aware, Microsoft is in the midst of trying to acquire Activision for a whopping $69 billion. The problem is that PlayStation are concerned about Call of Duty’s future. Microsoft initially said that making the franchise an Xbox-exclusive wouldn’t be profitable but later added that it’s something they’d think about in “several years”. It was then claimed that Microsoft offered Sony a three-year access deal before later upping this to 10 years. Well now, Microsoft are pretty desperate to push the acquisition through so they’re offering PlayStation Call of Duty games … for free? Really?
Upcoming Xbox-exclusive Starfield just dropped a launch date. Check out the reveal trailer below.
As reported by PSU, Microsoft has offered Sony the option to have all future Call of Duty titles launch as day one releases on PlayStation Plus in a bid to try and push the Activision acquisition though. One of the largest hurdles Microsoft have faced is the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who are concerned that the deal will monopolise the industry. The USA’s Federal Trade Commision (FTC) have also launched a suit seeking to block the deal but the suit cannot block the acquisition on its own.
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To convince such bodies that the deal will not monopolise the market, Microsoft ideally needs to get Sony on side which is a tall order hence the increasingly generous Call of Duty deals. It’s also the reason why you’ve likely seen reports of Microsoft possibly bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch. They certainly don’t want opposition from Nintendo either.
It’s a major offer from Microsoft. PlayStation Plus is just beginning to experiment with day one releases - like Stray and Tchia - and it's never released anything on the scale of a day one CoD title. It’ll be interesting to see if Sony accepts the offer.
Topics: PlayStation, Playstation Plus, Microsoft, Call Of Duty