Microsoft has agreed to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three years beyond the current agreement between Activision and Sony, but Jim Ryan doesn’t seem to think that’s good enough.
- In a statement provided to GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan, who serves as PlayStation CEO, called the offer “inadequate on many levels.”
- Ryan believes that the offer isn’t good enough because it “failed to take account of the impact” on PlayStation gamers, noting that the Call of Duty franchise has been available on Sony’s systems for almost two decades.
- The PlayStation CEO claims that he wasn’t planning to comment on the deal but decided to “set the record straight” after Xbox head Phil Spencer brought the matter “into the public forum.”
- Xbox had provided a signed agreement to Sony in January that guaranteed Call of Duty on PlayStation “with feature and content parity, for at least several more years,” according to a statement received by The Verge.
“I hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum,” Ryan stated.
“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. 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.”
From a GamesIndustry.biz report:
The disagreement between the two companies follows Microsoft’s offer to buy Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard in a deal worth nearly $69 billion. The deal is currently being scrutinised by competitions regulators, with the UK regulator (The Competition and Markets Authority) concerned over the possibility of Microsoft “withholding or degrading” Activision Blizzard’s content from other consoles or subscription services.
Last week, Xbox revealed that it had “provided a signed agreement to Sony to guarantee Call of Duty on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several more years” beyond Sony’s existing contract with Activision. Xbox said this offer “goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements.”