Microsoft has clarified its stance on the Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard in a deal that is currently being reviewed by regulatory bodies and is expected to close next year, with a cost of nearly $70 billion.
The Activision Blizzard acquisition will bring many major franchises under the Xbox Game Studios banner, including Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Starcraft, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Candy Crush Saga. Possibly the biggest get for Microsoft in this deal is the Call of Duty series, which is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, competing with the likes of Pokémon, Super Mario Bros., and Grand Theft Auto in of lifetime sales. This led fans to speculate whether Call of Duty would become an Xbox exclusive, as this would be a massive incentive for people to purchase an Xbox Series X/S, especially if all the games arrived on Game .
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was addressed in a post on the official Microsoft website, where Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer discussed the plans for when it finally goes through. Spencer confirmed that series like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo will be coming to Xbox Game in the future, as many had assumed. He also discussed the future of the Call of Duty series on other platforms.
Call Of Duty Will Still Appear On PlayStation Consoles In The Future
According to Spencer, the Call of Duty series will appear on PlayStation in the future and fans can expect the same versions of the game that will appear on Xbox systems. This also includes cross-play, which is something that the company has done extensively with Minecraft in the past. The Call of Duty games will also launch on all systems at the same time, with no timed exclusivity windows.
Microsoft could have made Call of Duty a PC/Xbox exclusive, in order to entice people away from PlayStation systems, but the company is going for an approach that makes money from its competitors. The Call of Duty franchise is massive, especially on PlayStation consoles, so it makes sense that Microsoft would want to keep profiting from the series on as many platforms as possible. It's possible that this could change in the future and that Call of Duty would become an Xbox exclusive, but it seems the series will remain multiplatform for the foreseeable future.
Source: Microsoft
