Microsoft has reiterated that it has no plans to make Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive if it successfully acquires Activision Blizzard.
In a document sent to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) discussing the proposed acquisition, Microsoft claims that any concerns that Call of Duty would no longer appear on PlayStation are unfounded because it “just wouldn’t be profitable.” ” for Microsoft.
As unsurprising as Sony’s critique of content exclusivity — given that PlayStation’s entire strategy has focused on exclusivity over the years — the reality is that the strategy of preserving Activision Blizzard’s games by not distributing them in rival console stores is simply would not be profitable. for Microsoft,” the company claims in the documents.
Such a strategy would only be profitable if Activision Blizzard’s games could attract a large enough number of gamers to the Xbox console ecosystem, and if Microsoft could earn enough revenue from game sales to offset the losses incurred. arise from not distributing such games on rival consoles.”
“As if that weren’t enough, exclusivity strategies still incur title-specific costs,” it claims, giving further information that has been removed from the document, likely due to confidentiality.
“Such costs, added to the estimated lost sales […] above, mean that Microsoft would not be able to offset the losses by generating higher revenues in the Xbox ecosystem as a result of implementing exclusivity.
“This is especially true given (i) the ‘gamer-centric’ – as opposed to the ‘device-centric’ – strategy Microsoft pioneered with Game Pass, and (ii) the fact that PlayStation has the most loyal users across generations, with all indications that brand loyalty has been built in previous rounds of the ‘console wars’, suggesting that PlayStation will continue to maintain a strong market position.”
Microsoft continues to defend its case, claiming that even if making CoD Xbox exclusive turned out to be profitable, its implementation would “have no competitive impact”, in part because of “the fierce competition in the game publishing market”. the fact that exclusivity strategies are often employed in the gaming industry and the fact that rival consoles enjoy a high degree of player loyalty.
“In summary,” it concludes, “the hypothetical adoption of a content retirement strategy would not be profitable for Microsoft and, even if implemented, such strategies would have no competitive impact, for the reasons described above.”
In its initial response to Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, published in January, Sony said it expects Call of Duty games to remain multiplatform due to “contractual agreements.”
Microsoft’s head of gaming then also confirmed his intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms once Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is complete.
However, it was later claimed that Activision Blizzard has contractually committed to release only the next three Call of Duty games for PlayStation consoles, including this year’s Modern Warfare 2.
The Call of Duty series is regularly one of the most popular games on PlayStation. Last year, the series was both the first (Vanguard) and third (Black Ops Cold War) best-selling games on PlayStation in the US, according to NPD.
Responding to Sony’s previous comments about the importance of the Call of Duty brand, GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring claimed that the remaining shooter franchise on PlayStation would actually benefit Xbox.
“Microsoft isn’t that interested in the battle for the console boxes. It believes that the future of games will be through streaming and subscriptions. Call of Duty is not so much a reason to buy an Xbox console as a reason to subscribe to the Game Pass subscription service,” he wrote.
“And this is what PlayStation is rightly concerned about. Because Call of Duty is the number 1 game on PS4 and PS5. Should this deal go through, Microsoft will own the most popular game on PlayStation. And what a chance that is. The marketing itself writes: ‘Are you tired of spending $70 on this game every year? Want extra in-game items and points? Then subscribe to Game Pass. You can even stream it on mobile.”
“Microsoft could talk directly to PlayStation’s own fanbase on its own console, putting Sony in an impossible position to either reject its console’s most popular game, or accept what could amount to a massive Game Pass ad disguised as a first person shooter.”
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