PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan says Microsoft’s offer to keep Call of Duty on PS platforms “was inadequate on many levels” and would last for three years after the existing agreement between Activision and Sony ends.
The report was made by GamesIndustry.biz, who directly received a statement from Ryan on Wednesday.
PlayStation’s Jim Ryan has criticised Xbox’s Call of Duty offer, saying that Microsoft has only promised to keep the series on PlayStation for 3 years beyond the current deal with Activision https://t.co/OmL57dpBxs
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) September 7, 2022
“I hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion,” Ryan said according to GamesIndustry.biz, “but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum.
“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.”
Last week, The Verge reported that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer had provided a signed agreement to Ryan and Sony to guarantee Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation for “at least several more years” beyond their current contract.
Spencer reportedly also added that the offer “goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements.”
As reported by Bloomberg in February, the current Call of Duty deal between Sony and Activision Blizzard is believed to remain in place for the franchise’s next three releases, including this year’s Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, as well as CoD 2024.
These developments all come, of course, in the midst of Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
In a move that was to be expected, Activision Blizzard announced in late April that more than 98% of the shares voted at the Activision Blizzard Special Meeting of Stockholders were voted in favor of the proposed transaction with Microsoft.
If the transaction closes, Microsoft would become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
Subject to customary closing conditions and the completion of regulatory review, the proposed transaction is expected to close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023.
The major question mark remains as to whether or not Microsoft is able to convince regulators around the world to approve the transaction in the coming months.
On Sept. 1, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority flagged the deal for a second, more in-depth review following its first pass.
In August, Sony reportedly claimed to Brazil’s national competition regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), that Xbox acquiring Call of Duty would be anti-competitive.
Microsoft has maintained that CoD would remain a multi-platform franchise for the foreseeable future.
