Microsoft will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for ‘several more years’

Microsoft has committed to keeping Call of Duty available on PlayStation for “several more years” after the existing marketing deal between Sony and Activision expires — assuming its acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes ahead.

According to The Verge, Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer promised to make the same promise to PlayStation President and CEO Jim Ryan in writing earlier this year. Spencer confirmed the commitment in a statement to the Verge: “In January, we provided a signed agreement to Sony to guarantee Duty call on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract, an offer that goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements.”

Spencer made several comments in the public domain to this effect. He noted the value of Call of Duty to the PlayStation Community and compared the game to. MinecraftMicrosoft keeps Call of Duty available on PlayStation, Xbox One and other platforms ever since it acquired Mojang in 2014. This is however the first statement that guarantees the availability of Call of Duty for PlayStation, beyond any existing agreements.

Microsoft does not want to be seen as one that has made Activision Blizzard anti-competitive. Activision Blizzard is subject to close inspection by government governments across the globe. Spencer and his staff will be happy to confirm this leak.

But, responding to the concerns of the U.K.’s competition regulator last week, Spencer did say for the first time that Call of Duty games will be coming to the Xbox subscription service, Game Pass. Assuming they remain unavailable on rival products like PlayStation Plus — which seems likely — this could still be a quite a differentiator for Microsoft as it seeks to expand the concept of game platforms beyond the hardware used to play games in the home.