Microsoft signs 10-year deal with Sony to continue ‘Call of Duty’ on PlayStation

With the agreement, the company seeks to address regulators’ concerns that the merger will make more Activision games — such as the massively popular shooting-game franchise — exclusive to Xbox.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) previously argued that the deal would harm consumers, whether they play video games on the console or have a subscription, because Microsoft would have an incentive to drive out rivals such as Sony Group.

was announced by Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer gave this information through a post on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer said on Twitter, “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to retain Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard “

As confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson, the deal is for 10 years. Microsoft signed a similar 10-year deal with Nintendo Co. Ltd. last year for the availability of Call of Duty.

The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is one of the biggest gaming deals ever. The path to closure for the biggest gaming deal ever was cleared Friday after an appeals court rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block the acquisition, Bloomberg reported.

The court ruling comes after a federal judge earlier in the week ruled in Microsoft’s favor, saying the FTC had not provided enough evidence to prove the deal would violate antitrust laws. Following the judge’s ruling, the FTC filed an appeal on Wednesday, which Microsoft has said it will contest.

The main remaining hurdle comes from the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which has agreed to give Microsoft an unprecedented second chance to come up with a solution after vetoing the merger in April over concerns about the deal’s impact on the cloud gaming market. .

(with inputs from agencies)

UPDATE: July 17, 2023, 01:21 PM IST