Microsoft's top game division said, 'We will continue to issue Call of Duty on Playstation,' denying allegations of Xbox monopoly

On January 19, 2022, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard , a major game maker known for 'Warcraft, ' ' Diablo, ' and ' Overwatch, ' for about 8 trillion yen. Phil Spencer , the head of the game division, raised the suspicion that 'Microsoft intends to monopolize Activision Blizzard's signature title' Call of Duty 'that has been released on Playstation to Xbox?' He expressed his intention to 'continue to issue Call of Duty on Playstation.'

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wants to'keep Call of Duty on PlayStation'--The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22893830/microsoft-gaming-ceo-xbox-phil-spencer-keep-call-of-duty-playstation

Spencer said: 'We had a good talk with Sony leaders this week. I want to respect all of the existing contracts that exist inside us when we acquire Activision Blizzard. And we confirmed our desire to continue launching Call of Duty on Playstation. Sony is an important part of our industry and we want to cherish this relationship. '

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. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.

— Phil Spencer (@ XboxP3) January 20, 2022

Spencer has stated that the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks , known for 'Skyrim ' and ' Fallout, ' will 'become an exclusive title for the Xbox Game Pass,' indicating his intention to make the title of the acquired studio Xbox exclusive. rice field.

Xbox official mentions that Bethesda title will be 'Xbox Game Pass exclusive title' in the future-GIGAZINE

In fact, Bethesda Softworks has said that it will release 'Starfield ' scheduled to be released in November 2022 for Windows and Xbox Series X / S, and it is said that the impact of the acquisition by Microsoft is clear.

On the other hand, as ' Minecraft Dungeons ' was released for Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Windows, it is believed that there is a principle of 'continuing to release with the same hardware as the previous work' for series works.

A Sony spokeswoman said on January 20 that 'We hope that Microsoft will keep the contractual agreement and continue to make Activision Blizzard games multi-platform.' , Shows a consensus with Mr. Spencer. In addition, the document notified to Activision Blizzard employees states that 'as with Microsoft's acquisition of Minecraft, we have no intention of removing content from existing platforms,' so at least the Call of Duty series. It is expected that it will be released on Playstation in the future.