Sony accidentally reveals how much money Call of Duty makes
It makes sense that you want to protect your golden goose from prying eyes and never let your enemies know your hand. It's exactly this reason that's why the likes of Nintendo, Netflix, and Disney+ are cagey with their figures and refuse to let us humble consumers know what something's worth.
As the saga between Microsoft and Sony reaches new levels of "he said, she said," the Federal Trade Commission has stepped in to try and clear up the Activision Blizzard deal. Bosses like PlayStation's Jim Ryan and Xbox's Phil Spencer have been called forward, and while there are no winners, Call of Duty just lost big.
Sony accidentally reveals how much Call of Duty makes
Click to enlargeThere have been some tantalising tidbits from the hearing, with The Verge reporting that Sony has accidentally revealed how many people are engaged with Call of Duty, how much money the shooter series makes, and what it's worth. We bet Bobby Kotick is pretty mad right now.
Hilariously, this mistake all happened due to a Sharpie. With documents from Ryan being brought forward as evidence to the FTC, key details were redacted. Unfortunately, Sony apparently isn't very good at redacting things, with the figures being clearly visible when scanned.
Although the courts have rushed to remove the document from circulation, it's already out there in the wild. Big reveals include that in 2021, around one million PlayStation users spent 100% of their time playing Call of Duty. Six million spent 60% shooting up the CoDverse, and a whopping 14 million spent 30% of their time here.
Elsewhere, Call of Duty players spent an average of 116 hours a year playing Call of Duty. The big one is that Call of Duty is worth $800 million to Sony in the US alone - with a global price of $1.5 billion. Bundle this with CoD players spending on PlayStation hardware and subscriptions, it could be worth $15.9 billion a year.
What does all of this mean?
Click to enlargeIs this just some clever way of Sony shanking the Activision Blizzard acquisition? A conveniently vague Sharpie has just unveiled the absolute wedge Call of Duty makes on PlayStation, which would also add some weight to the idea it can't survive without the CoDverse.
These numbers also veer away from Microsoft's claims that every Call of Duty player could leave PlayStation and it would remain unaffected. Despite Spencer promising Call of Duty will stay on PlayStation for now, there are worries the chart-topping franchise will eventually become an Xbox exclusive.
Sony isn't the only one to be left red-faced by all these documents and leaked emails. Microsoft reportedly eyed acquiring Square Enix, Bungie, and SEGA, while there are also claims it was trying to spend Sony out of business. Then again, a confidential email from Ryan suggests he was never too worried about the deal.
As the sordid situation rages on, journalists and gamers alike are like a pack of ravenous dogs waiting for the next juicy detail to do the rounds. Either way, neither side is coming out of this looking particularly good - someone pass the popcorn.
