Microsoft has reassured non-Xbox owning 'Call Of Duty' fans that the blockbuster franchise will remain multi-platform.
Microsoft's blockbuster buyout of Activision this year caused concern among fans that the best-selling franchise would become an Xbox exclusive, but in legal documents sent to Brazillian competition regulators, Microsoft has reaffirmed the franchise will remain multi-platform.
In a document sent to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) discussing the proposed acquisition, Microsoft claims that any concerns that 'Call of Duty' would no longer appear on PlayStation are unfounded because it “would simply not be profitable” for Microsoft.
“Regardless of how unsurprising Sony's criticism of content exclusivity is – given that PlayStation’s entire strategy has been centred on exclusivity over the years – the reality is that the strategy of retaining Activision Blizzard’s games by not distributing them in rival console shops would simply not be profitable for Microsoft,” the company claims in the documentation.
“Such a strategy would be profitable only if Activision Blizzard’s games were able to attract a sufficiently large number of gamers to the Xbox console ecosystem, and if Microsoft could earn enough revenue from game sales to offset the losses from not distributing such games on rival consoles,” it added.
The proposed blockbuster deal would be the biggest acquisition deal in gaming history, but the deal has some hurdles to clear before it is officially signed off.
Microsoft officials are in negotiation with anti-trust regulators in the United Kingdom and the United States in an effort to convince them that such a massive deal would not breach different countries' competition laws.
In an analysis piece from earlier this year, we made the point that it would not be in Microsoft's interests to keep major titles like 'Call Of Duty' or 'Overwatch' as Xbox exclusive titles by virtue of Xbox having a lower market share than rivals PlayStation and Nintendo and thus would be cutting off a major revenue source.
Back in the non-business world, 'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' is on track for an October release, although it has a tough act to follow to live up to the original 'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' which was released in 2009.
The 'Call Of Duty' franchise has reinvigorated itself after a fairly dour series of outings, with the Warzone mode helping put the first-person shooter franchise back on top of the charts and taking up precious space on our hard drives.
