The gaming world may never quite be the same after the incredible and shocking announcement that Xbox is acquiring Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard is the publisher for massive franchises such as World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. But it terms of sales, notoriety, and more, there is no franchise more important in this acquisition that Call of Duty.
Even in what is reported to be a down year for the shooter, Call of Duty: Vanguard was the best-selling game of 2021. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War took home the number two best-selling game in the year prior. The franchise has been one of the most played and beloved for the past decade and a half. However, there is a chance that this deal will cut off millions of players if Call of Duty goes exclusive.
Explaining The Massive Xbox And Activision Blizzard News
Activision Blizzard has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this year, as the company was sued by the state of California for creating and encouraging a "frat-boy like" culture of harassment towards females and members of the LGBT community. Xbox claimed that it wanted to evaluate its relationship with Activision Blizzard based on the disturbing news, but not many thought that would result in the company flat-out buying Activision Blizzard.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer shared the news today in an Xbox Wire blog post. He welcomed the incredible teams and franchises to the Xbox family, and highlighted information about the new hierarchy. Once the deal is finalized in mid-2023, Activision Blizzard will report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick reportedly did not want Xbox to purchase, and there are reports that he will step down once the purchase is complete. He will act as the CEO up until that time, but this is a major turning point for the publisher.
Along with some major games, there are franchises that were once connected to PlayStation that are now owned by Xbox, including Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. Lately even Call of Duty was leaning much more towards the PlayStation side, but now that changes. It is fair to wonder if Call of Duty will soon be Xbox-exclusive.
Prior Acquisitions for Xbox and What Happened with Exclusivity
After the massive acquisition, Xbox's list of first-party studios is large and impressive. The company has brought inXile Entertainment, Obsidian Entertainment, Double Fine, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Mojang, and more under its umbrella, bolstering its first-party lineup in the process. With many of those additions, the games that have been developed (or will be) have become exclusives for Xbox. Minecraft is an example of a massive acquisition that has remained multi-platform, and that even extends to spin-offs like Minecraft Dungeons.
On September 21, 2020, Xbox revealed that it was purchasing Bethesda for $7.5 billion. As incomprehensible of a move that was for the gaming world, the idea that Activision Blizzard has been acquired by the same company for nearly $70 billion blows it out of the water. Xbox has snagged some of the biggest franchises in gaming over the years, including Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and more. The idea that it now owns Call of Duty trumps all of that in many ways.
When Bethesda was purchased, there was various wording about how Xbox did not want to alienate current fans of the publisher that are outside the Xbox ecosystem. However, it soon became apparent that Xbox would be publishing exclusive Bethesda titles, including 2022's Starfield. The same seems to be true for Activision. While it may seem impossible to think of Call of Duty as not being multi-platform, early indicators already make it seem like Xbox will indeed publish exclusive Activision Blizzard games.
What This Means for Call of Duty
Call of Duty's developers, such as Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games, are now Xbox developers. This could mean that the studios will be allowed to create new things, as it is possible that Phil Spencer will shake things up (especially with some recent shortcomings of the Call of Duty developers). There is also a chance that Call of Duty will no longer be released every year, becoming a platform more than an annual release, much like Call of Duty: Warzone.
One of the more exciting things will be the idea that Call of Duty games will very likely be a part of Xbox Game Pass in the near future. Game Pass is an incredible value proposition, and this will continue to be true with more high-quality and popular titles being added to the service. After Xbox purchased Bethesda, games such as Wolfenstein, Doom, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls soon were added — and future games will follow suit. The idea that Call of Duty is a pseudo free-to-play franchise (with Xbox Game Pass) is incredible. However, the fact that it may soon be available only on Xbox is something that would leave plenty of gamers high and dry.
How Call of Duty Exclusivity Would Work
In the Xbox 360 days, Call of Duty was attached to Xbox thanks to a marketing and content exclusivity deal. However, when PlayStation took that deal for itself in 2015, the perception shifted. Even up through the release of the newest shooter, PlayStation has had exclusive and "firsts" for Call of Duty: Vanguard. So PlayStation players of Call of Duty may feel especially ripped off if and when Call of Duty goes Xbox exclusive.
There are two ways to look at this idea. One is that Call of Duty has been the best-selling game nearly every year for a decade-plus, so Xbox would be wise to allow those games to continue to sell on all platforms. The same approach was used for Minecraft, as Xbox gets paid when the game sells on the Switch, PlayStation, etc. However, the other idea is that if Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games were only released on Xbox, there would be a shift in industry power leaning heavily towards Xbox. Spending $70 million to keep things exactly the way they are seems unlikely.
The current Call of Duty games will likely continue to be available on PlayStation, including Call of Duty: Warzone. Once the deal is complete, a flip won't be switched on the servers that don't allow PlayStation players to continue to enjoy their games. Meanwhile, Call of Duty 2022 will still release on all platforms, as the Activision Blizzard deal will not finalize until as late as mid-2023. It also seems unlikely, but possible, that the 2023 Call of Duty will be available only on Xbox, as the deal will have only been solidified for a couple of months. Whatever version of Call of Duty that is released in 2024, however, could be the first Xbox exclusive.
It is possible that a brand new Call of Duty battle royale is released as an Xbox exclusive. It is possible that beginning in 2023 or 2024, every new Call of Duty game is available only on Xbox. In just a few years, it is entirely possible that the only place to enjoy Doom, Call of Duty, Halo, Diablo, Gears of War, Fallout, Starfield, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Wolfenstein, Forza, etc. is on Xbox. On top of that, all of those games would be available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Just two years ago, this would seem impossible. Xbox once had an exclusivity problem, but that may soon no longer be the case.