In a statement by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, he guaranteed that Call of Duty will still release on the PlayStation “for at least several more years”. This is in response to their acquisition of Activision Blizzard and with it several IPs, including Call of Duty. This statement was most likely to alleviate the concerns brought up by many players. One of the worries was with regards to Sony's current contract with Activision regarding the franchise. People have vocalized their concerns that once the contract expires, Call of Duty might become an Xbox or PC exclusive. Microsoft has already tried before to calm players down regarding this possibility. In a document they sent to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense, Microsoft assured everyone that it would not be profitable to make Call of Duty an exclusive title.
Despite all this, Sony is still not convinced. After Spencer made this statement, Jim Ryan, Sony's CEO, immediately responded. He said that Microsoft only offered three years after the current agreement ends. Ryan continued that this was “inadequate on so many levels”, and that it “failed to take account of the impact on our gamers”. This statement seemed to be offering a contradictory view of what Microsoft intends to do with the franchise. In Sony's defense, being promised “several more years” (or three years) is ambiguous at best. If Microsoft does intend to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation, they need to be very clear about it.
Unsurprisingly, people online have expressed their distaste for what Jim Ryan said. Some said that this statement was hypocritical, as Sony went to the lengths to make some major IPs exclusive. A recent example of this is Final Fantasy XVI, slated to come out next year as a PS5 exclusive on launch. Though it will be available on other platforms after a while, that would mean people will have to wait. Others, like the tweet below, called back to Street Fighter V's exclusivity. The general consensus of these players seems to be that Sony is a pot calling the kettle black.
https://twitter.com/KirkRooster/status/1567906604263030787
Whether Microsoft will keep its word or not is still up in the air at this point. We will have to wait until the acquisition goes through before we can be totally sure about Call of Duty's future.
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