The news of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, first announced on Tuesday, is enormous for the games industry. The full details of what this means for some of the most popular online titles, however, have yet to be released. Activision Blizzard has some major IPs under its umbrella, including World of Warcraft and Call of Duty.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, took to Twitter to say that Microsoft won’t be pulling Call of Duty off of PlayStation with this new acquisition. “Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation,” Spencer wrote on Thursday. “Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.”
While this is promising news for PlayStation users who also enjoy Call of Duty, it’s not a comprehensive statement. It’s possible that the situation could change in the future; for instance, a new mainline Call of Duty title and campaign could be exclusive to Microsoft’s platforms, while the free-to-play Warzone remains multi-platform. The word “desire” also indicates that this isn’t fully set in stone; there may be complex negotiations on the topic.
While this Tweet suggests there’s nothing to worry about any time soon, it feels like there’s a lingering “but” that has yet to be addressed. In the meantime, here’s a full rundown of every major franchise Microsoft now controls following the proposed Activision Blizzard deal.
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