Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has already made it pretty clear that Microsoft would be honoring all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard to keep franchises such as Call of Duty on PlayStation, but the company has doubled down on its commitment today in a new blog post pertaining to its new principled approach to app stores. Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair, confirmed in a section regarding developer choice that Activision titles such as Call of Duty would not only remain on PlayStation in the immediate future, but that they’d continue to be available on competing platforms even after the termination of existing agreements. Smith also clarified that Microsoft will be supporting the Nintendo Switch in a similar way.
Adapting ahead of regulation: a principled approach to app stores (Microsoft)
- First, some commentators have asked whether we will continue to make popular content like Activision’s Call of Duty available on competing platforms like Sony’s PlayStation. The obvious concern is that Microsoft could make this title available exclusively on the Xbox console, undermining opportunities for Sony PlayStation users.
- To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision. And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love.
- We are also interested in taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform. We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for gamers and for our business.