Sony has expressed its concerns about a potential Call of Duty exclusive status in the future. Although Microsoft has said on numerous occasions that it doesn’t plan to pull Activision Blizzard’s juggernaut from other platforms, the company has remained coy about the future, with the only reassurances it has offered pertaining to existing games like Warzone.
Sony thinks Call of Duty exclusivity will hurt PlayStation’s sales
Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is being examined and scrutinized by a number of regulatory bodies around the globe. As part of the process, regulators are asking Microsoft’s competitors a series of questions about the likely impact of the merger. In Brazil, the review process started on May 20th, with the authorities sending out a questionnaire to Sony, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and numerous others. ResetEra user Idas translated the responses into English, and it’s evident that the PlayStation maker is the only one spooked by the deal.
According to Sony, no other developer can create anything that rivals Call of Duty, which it considers a gaming category of its own. The company believes that this franchise alone can influence users’ choice of console, and given that Call of Duty is Sony’s biggest third-party revenue stream, Call of Duty going Microsoft exclusive will certainly hurt its arch-rival in more ways than one.
Interestingly, Sony also believes that Game Pass will harm the gaming industry in the long run. It believes that even if a company with substantial cash flow and investments steps up to create a rival to the service, it’ll take several years before Game Pass can be beaten.
In other news, we’re into August and here’s everything you need to know about this month’s PS Plus lineup, and Ubisoft has said that Skull and Bones won’t be a narrative driven game. It ain’t no Black Flag!