A private email has surfaced, revealing that Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan had a different perspective on the exclusivity of Call of Duty than what was previously known.
During the ongoing FTC vs Microsoft hearing, the email disclosed that Ryan viewed Call of Duty’s exclusivity differently. He stated, “It is not an exclusivity play at all,” adding, “They’re thinking bigger than that and they have the cash to make moves like this. I’ve spent a fair amount of time with both Phil [Spencer] Bobby [Kotick] over the past day and I’m pretty sure we will continue to see Call of Duty on PlayStation for many years to come” (via The Verge).
This contrasts with the public statements made during Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard since January 2022. Microsoft offered Sony three years of support on the PS5 and PS4 that went beyond the agreement made between Activision and Sony. Jim Ryan, however, criticized the proposal, deeming it “inadequate on so many levels” (via Gamesindustry.biz).
In an official statement, Ryan stated, “After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle”.
Sony expressed concerns that Microsoft could potentially harm future Call of Duty games on PlayStation platforms if the acquisition took place, as outlined in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s remedies notice. They raised concerns such as “degrading the quality and performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation compared to Xbox” or making the games more expensive. In response, Microsoft reassured that they “will have every incentive to develop games with optimized support for PS5 features, such as haptics, and future consoles in order to maximize sales on the platform”.
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Deepak Sen is a tech enthusiast who covers the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets. His articles provide readers with a glimpse into the ever-evolving world of technology.
