Since Microsoft announced it had acquired Activision Blizzard, there's been quite a bit of fallout all over the industry. However, the fallout for one French retailer includes the store putting warnings on its PlayStation 5 section that Microsoft has indeed taken over the Call of Duty developer.
Most of the concerns over Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard have surrounded the controversies that have been erupting around the latter company. There have also been some people who worried that the merger would amount to a deal that would give Microsoft a monopolistic hold on the video game industry. There have also been several concerns that the Call of Duty franchise could become an Xbox exclusive and that appears to be what's rooted in the retailer's warning to customers looking to buy a PS5.
Twitter user HazzadorGamin recently posted a picture from inside a store for the French retail chain Cora showing the warning. On the PlayStation 5 section of the store, there was a sign that served as a "notice to gamers" that Microsoft has acquired Activision. The note went on to say that people should choose their machine carefully and then in parentheses made it clear the issue was the Call of Duty franchise.
It should be pointed out that Cora is not a small retailer as it has more than 60 stores in France and 20 more in other parts of Europe. It's not clear if this kind of sign has been posted in all the chain's outlets or whether this particular note was the work of one manager who is concerned about the future of the Call of Duty franchise and the PS5.
While the people running Cora are hardly the only ones who are concerned that Microsoft might eventually pull the franchise off of the PlayStation consoles, it doesn't appear that's going to happen anytime soon. Soon after the takeover, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said his company will keep the next few Call of Duty installments on the PS4 and PS5.
On the other hand, insiders have reportedly made it clear that Microsoft is planning on making some Activision Blizzard properties Xbox exclusive. While the next few Call of Duty titles are under contract as being on both consoles, that contract doesn't mean that the COD games are going to be on both permanently. There is a chance that at some point, Sony could be left out in the cold and Cora is apparently warning customers about what Microsoft could eventually do.
Source: VGC