The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft generated many doubts, especially due to the importance of some of the franchises of both companies, among which we can undoubtedly highlight the series Call of Duty, but also others like Diablo, Overwatch and World of Warcraft.
Until now, Sony had enjoyed a certain favored treatment in this regard through the classic “first on PlayStation”, that allowed users of said console to enjoy content from the Call of Duty saga before anyone else, and it is clear that this has given it an advantage over Xbox.
If Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard it is evident that Sony will lose that advantageand the Japanese company also fears the possible loss of the Call of Duty franchise, something that it has exposed quite clearly in its response to official questions from the Brazilian competition regulator.
All this information has been published by the Brazilian Government, and in the documents you can clearly read that Sony has commented that the Call of Duty franchise is so big that it is an “essential, triple A game that has no rival.”
The Japanese company has also stated that it is such a popular franchise that can influence players’ decisions when choosing which console to buy. On this subject I think we could introduce very important nuances, especially after seeing the success that Nintendo Switch has achieved despite not having the Call of Duty saga, although I understand Sony’s approach.
But this is not all, Sony says that Activision Blizzard invests so much money and time in the development of each new release of the Call of Duty franchise that is, in theory, almost impossible for a direct rival to emerge, a series at the height of said saga. He also reinforced his argument by saying that for decades he has remained the best-selling game of its genre.
Sony fears that Call of Duty will become an exclusive for Xbox and PC
This has become clear when seeing the argumentation that has been given to the Government of Brazil, but could this really happen? The truth is that it is a possibility, and it certainly makes sense. Microsoft said it was planning to keep Call of Duty as a cross-platform game after the purchase of Activision Blizzard, but soon after we discovered that in fact there is only the commitment to carry the next three deliveries of the franchise to PlayStation (there is a contractual agreement involved). When that obligation is fulfilled, Microsoft would be free not to launch more installments of the saga on said console.
That is the fear that Sony has, and the truth is that it’s perfectly understandable. The weight of the Call of Duty franchise is enormous today. Nintendo has been able to compensate for it with two great keys, the hybrid approach of Nintendo Switch and its own franchises, but in the case of Sony it would be much more complicated. I think this raises an interesting question, would you buy a PlayStation if that console lost the Call of Duty franchise? We read in the comments.
