Microsoft and the Xbox Team have recently offered a deal to Sony that would allow the PlayStation giant to offer Call of Duty games on the PlayStation Plus store. This offer comes after Xbox and its parent company are being withheld from finalizing the purchase of the Call of Duty franchise due to fears from the U.S.'s FTC that Xbox would be able to unfairly dominate the video game industry.
Over the previous decade, Xbox has purchased some of gaming's biggest franchises, from Minecraft to Bethesda. These acquisitions have given Microsoft and Xbox unmitigated access to fan-favorite console titles, and Sony is not eager to allow Call of Duty to be purchased as well. Indeed, in the wake of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's launch, PlayStation is attempting to support claims that Xbox's purchase of Call of Duty would create unfair competition.
Microsoft has been looking to purchase the Call of Duty franchise for nearly $70 billion, which has raised many concerns in the gaming community and has caught the attention of the U.S. FTC. Xbox is eager to see the sale successfully concluded and has therefore offered Sony a deal that would allow COD games to be added to PlayStation Plus. As Sony has fought the purchase, Phil Spencer has stated that the gaming giant wants to make the Xbox platform smaller. It is also worth noting that Xbox has committed to supporting Call of Duty on PlayStation for the next decade.
Indeed, PlayStation is a larger global platform than Xbox, something that Microsoft has been sure to mention. Many people have also begun criticizing PlayStation and the FTC, however, saying that the U.S. agency is ignoring what Sony has already done to keep franchises exclusive to its platform. Some of the largest PlayStation titles, including God of War and Uncharted, are all exclusive to PS consoles.
Of course, the outcome of the dispute won't be known for some time. No matter what happens, however, Call of Duty players will be able to continue gaming on all platforms for the foreseeable future. Indeed, now seems like a good time to be a Call of Duty fan as the value of the franchise is being globally recognized. As new content is added to current franchise titles, and as future COD games are developed, players can rest assured that the critically-acclaimed series will be able to keep delivering awesome experiences to gamers on all platforms in the years to come.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: VGC