All Future Call of Duty Titles Will Come To Both Xbox Game Pass And PlayStation
Amid the pending Activision acquisition, Microsoft has faced some resistance from governing bodies, specifically the Competition and Markets Authority brand of the UK government. The body has launched an official 'Phase 2' investigation over the anticipated purchase of Activision from Microsoft, claiming that the merger would eclipse competition due to harbouring games such as Call of Duty in platform exclusive subscriptions.
In quick terms, the C&MA are worried that consumers will be stung by Microsoft taking Call of Duty and sticking it on Xbox, and Xbox only.
However, with the UK government opening the investigation, Microsoft's Phil Spencer has stated that the future of Call of Duty will not be held behind Xbox exclusive subscriptions (Game Pass), and has confirmed that the future of Call of Duty is multi-platform.
Microsoft Confirms Call of Duty Will Stay On PlayStation
With Microsoft taking over Activision and subsequently the Call of Duty franchise, the initial fear was that the future games beyond Modern Warfare 2 will all be exclusive to their Xbox consoles.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has now claimed that while Call of Duty will come to Game Pass in the future, they will be releasing it on PlayStation on the same day as the Xbox releases too.
"We intend to make Activision Blizzard's much-loved library of games - including Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty - available in Game Pass to grow those communities," Spencer said in a recent statement following the UK government's investigations.
"We've heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them. That's why, as we've said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere."
Will Xbox Get Any Call of Duty Exclusives?
So far, Call of Duty has always been multi-platform-centric. However, this hasn't stopped Sony from getting quite a lot of PlayStation love in the past. Early access to the Modern Warfare 2 beta is just one of many exclusive opportunities that have been thrown PlayStation's way in previous years.
With Microsoft soon to take the reins, it's likely that many similar opportunities will go in Xbox players' favour. Early access, discounted prices, and even select game modes could become restricted to their platforms.
It appears that for as long as Microsoft hold Call of Duty, they will never be able to make it fully exclusive to their Xbox platforms, although you can definitely expect a few freebie bonuses spun their way.
