Microsoft Offers Sony 10-Year Deal to Keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

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Image: Activision

Microsoft has offered Sony a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, according to a report shared today by The New York Times that discusses the Windows and Xbox maker’s $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard, which is undergoing reviews in 16 countries.

“Microsoft said that on Nov. 11 it offered Sony a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation,” the publication reported (alternate link), although it wasn’t able to provide much in the way of specifics, noting that Sony declined to comment on the offer.

The Times did highlight some recent comments from PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, however, who was prompted to share more heated thoughts regarding Microsoft and its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard after the company accused Sony of misleading UK regulators and overstating the “importance of Call of Duty to its viability”:

[…] Jim Ryan, the chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said it was “not true” that his company had misled regulators. He said that Microsoft was “a tech giant with a long history of dominating industries” and that “it is highly likely that the choices gamers have today will disappear if this deal goes ahead.”

Ryan also made headlines in September when he called Microsoft’s Call of Duty offer as being “indequate,” arguing that it “failed to take account of the impact” on PlayStation gamers and how the Call of Duty franchise has been available on Sony’s systems for almost two decades.

“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 said.

“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.”

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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