Sony expects Activision’s games to remain on PlayStation.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion is the most talked-about move in the business. Not just because it is Microsoft’s biggest acquisition ever, but also because of Activision Blizzard’s game licenses. Sony has broken the silence, expressing their hope that at least the most major sagas will remain on PlayStation.
Sony hopes to keep the party peaceful
Sony’s first formal response to Tuesday’s news was shared with Bloomberg via a spokeswoman who said that “we expect Microsoft to honor contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision’s games are multiplatform.” Year after year, Call of Duty is one of the best-selling games, and the series’ exclusivity would prove a major setback for PlayStation.
Given this, several games, most notably Call of Duty, which has a community of millions of players across all platforms – both with the annual premium games and the free-to-play battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone – may be able to continue on various platforms, but this is not a guarantee for other titles.
In the case of Bethesda, Microsoft is preserving the improved PlayStation version of The Elder Scrolls Online and honoring temporary exclusivity arrangements for Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo, while Starfield, Redfall, and The Elder Scrolls 6 are Xbox and PC exclusives.
We’ll have to wait for time to pass and for these two industry heavyweights to strike a deal on Activision Blizzard’s titles, but one thing is certain: the balance will lean significantly towards Xbox and Windows 10.
