Things are getting heated in the console space. Last week, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer committed to ensuring Call of Duty games remain on PlayStation consoles for “several more years” after their Activision Blizzard acquisition (via The Verge). Today however whilst speaking to gamesindustry.biz, CEO of PlayStation Jim Ryan has branded the deal “inadequate on many levels”.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is currently under intense scrutiny across the globe by competition authorities, with Sony making their grievances very public in Brazil. The biggest issue for PlayStation is the potential of Microsoft making Call of Duty an Xbox-exclusive series, which would be a major loss for the Japanese company.
Jim Ryan said he “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”. He continued:
“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.”
It’s clear that Ryan is thoroughly unhappy with the terms offered by Xbox, as the impact on PlayStation’s user base could be significant with it being the dominant console used to play Call of Duty games. Saudi Arabia already approved the acquisition by Microsoft, but the UK competition authority remains skeptical. The future of the deal is still unsure, but we’d be surprised if Microsoft doesn’t get their way.
What do you think of Jim Ryan’s comments? Does Microsoft owe Playstation the Call of Duty games? Let us know in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more industry news.
