As we’ve learned over the course of the past year, Microsoft doesn’t believe that exclusivity is in the best interest of Call of Duty, or the gaming community. The tech giant has described the move as “economically irrational” and “disastrous to the Call of Duty franchise and Xbox itself.” It’s even come to the point that Microsoft has given Sony a fairly generous offer just to convince its rival that Call of Duty isn’t going exclusive anytime soon.
In late November, Microsoft reportedly offered Sony a ten-year contract to make Call of Duty available on PlayStation platforms. Just days later, a separate report doubled down on this claim, saying Microsoft is willing to make concessions to make the acquisition happen. Now, Microsoft president Brad Smith has confirmed that such an offer exists. Here’s what Smith had to say in an op-ed to The Wall Street Journal: TLDR; This is Microsoft telling all the regulators and Sony that it’s willing to do everything it can, within reason, to get this deal over the line. Regulators in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia, approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $70 billion. Meanwhile, the UK, EU, and the United States FTC are all busy deliberating if they should approve the deal or not. So far, we’ve learned plenty from the inquiries done by regulatory bodies into the Activision Blizzard purchase. For example, we know that Microsoft expects Grand Theft Auto 6 to be out by 2024. Finally, it’s revealed that Sony might release the PlayStation 6 by 2028.
