Microsoft is currently in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard and that has sparked a conversation around the future exclusivity of Call of Duty. Currently, every new Call of Duty title is available on both PlayStation and Xbox. It has become one of the biggest FPS franchises on the market, and is Activision's flagship series. If Microsoft's acquisition goes through, then Call of Duty will join the Xbox Game Studios family, which could mean that the franchise's days on PlayStation are numbered.

Recently, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan revealed more details of the deal that Microsoft offered Sony, and it did not feel like it was adequate. Microsoft gave Sony three years after the current deal before Call of Duty become exclusive to Xbox and PC, and Sony feels like that is a disservice to the players. However, the studio is also actively pursuing exclusive in-game content with all sorts of different video games and is constantly churning out games that can only be played on PlayStation. These actions make Sony's comments ring pretty hollow, and has opened up even more conversation around exclusivity in gaming.

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The Call of Duty Exclusivity Debate Explained

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Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it has plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This came after months of lawsuits over workplace harassment within Activision Blizzard, and significant damaging of its reputation. On the other hand, Microsoft had seen significant turnaround since the Xbox One launch and had built a very consumer-friendly reputation with the introduction of services like Xbox Game Pass. Many players got excited for what this acquisition could entail, but it also sparked some conversations around the future of some of Activision's biggest franchises.

Call of Duty is one of the largest franchises on the market, and it has been available on almost every platform. PlayStation and Xbox gamers have both been able to check out the latest entries, and they have been able to play together through crossplay. The only big difference is that the last couple of entries featured some exclusive perks for PlayStation players, and Xbox had that same deal before Black Ops 3 released. Now, that may all change with Call of Duty set to join Xbox's expanding roster of franchises.

There has been some worry over the future of Call of Duty and if it will still be available on every major platform. While it was originally reported that the franchise may remain cross-platform like Minecraft did, there were some new developments that have drastically changed the conversation. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has revealed that Xbox only offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three years after the end of the current deal. The franchise would most likely become an Xbox and PC exclusive after that, unless the two companies could come to a new deal.

Sony feels like this deal is inadequate and that it negatively impacts its players. Call of Duty is one of the largest franchises in gaming, and losing access to the title would feel like a major blow to the platform. On the other hand, making the franchise an Xbox exclusive could significantly boost the appeal of the console in the eyes of many players. It would also boost the value of Xbox Game Pass if the newest Call of Duty titles are available day one. At the same time, Sony is also actively pursuing its own exclusive content to boost the PlayStation 5, which even further sparks the debate over exclusivity.

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Sony Actively Pursues Exclusivity Deals

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Sony feels like the deal that Microsoft offered it is inadequate and negatively impacts the players, yet the company is also committed to getting as much exclusive content for its platform as it can. It has acquired studios to boost its portfolio and is actively pursuing exclusive in-game content for games like Hogwarts Legacy or Marvel's Avengers. Further, it has been creating many exclusive first-party games, and it has even locked down timed-exclusives with games like Final Fantasy 16. All of these actions make Sony's comments about Call of Duty ring hollow, and almost feel a little hypocritical.

Sony first-party studios are actively working on new experiences for PlayStation players, and no other platform is going to be getting these titles for the foreseeable future. Games like God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart are all only playable on PlayStation consoles. Recently, the studio has been releasing some of its older first-party games on PC, but all of its future games are still PlayStation exclusives until further notice.

First-party games are not the only games that Sony is grabbing for PlayStation 5. Square Enix's Final Fantasy 16 is also going to be exclusive to PlayStation. This is supposed to be a timed-exclusive, but there is no news on when that time actually runs out. Square Enix is not a first-party studio, but Sony has been able to sign an exclusive deal with it which will keep the game off Xbox for a little while. It has also done similar things with Forspoken.

Games are not the only thing that Sony makes exclusive to PlayStation. It has also been pursuing in-game content for multiplatform games and making them PlayStation only. This is not just cosmetics, but entire characters or missions as well. Marvel's Avengers featured Spider-Man as a playable character, but only if players were playing the game on PlayStation. The upcoming Hogwarts Legacy will have an exclusive quest only available to PlayStation players, and those same players will also gain access to a special pre-order potion. These are just a couple of the latest in-game exclusives, and there are bound to be more.

Sony seems to constantly be pursuing exclusive PlayStation content to increase the appeal of its gaming ecosystem, but at the same time, it criticizes Microsoft for considering to make Call of Duty an Xbox and PC exclusive franchise. Sony's business practices do not seem to lineup with the messages it's sending Microsoft, and that makes its comments feel questionable. Exclusives are not going anywhere anytime soon, but the debate will continue to rage on, especially as Call of Duty nears a possible future without PlayStation.

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