Activision Blizzard's Non-Call of Duty Franchises Reportedly Skipping PlayStation
Earlier today, Microsoft announced that it had officially signed a binding agreement that will keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation platforms for at least 10 years. However, it seems the deal only applies to Call of Duty, and not other Activision Blizzard games. According to reporting from The Verge's Tom Warren, the deal Microsoft offered PlayStation in January 2022 would have kept "all existing Activision console titles on Sony, including future versions in the Call of Duty franchise or any other current Activision franchise on Sony through December 31st, 2027." Xbox head of global communications Kari Perez confirmed to Warren that the new deal only applies to Call of Duty.
As The Verge notes, the new deal given to Sony is similar to the one that was provided to Nintendo. Meanwhile, the deals provided to cloud gaming companies like Nvidia and Boosteroid include other Activision games. It's worth noting that additional Activision games could still release on PlayStation, but Microsoft is not contractually obligated to do so. It's possible that some of these decisions could be made on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances, it might make more sense for Microsoft to make these games widely available, while in others, it might be more beneficial for them to remain exclusive to Xbox.
As we noted all the way back in January 2022, this could mean that some franchises historically connected to PlayStation will no longer appear on the platform. Most notably, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon started life as PlayStation mascots, before becoming part of Activision, and now Xbox. The first Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony, while the original Spyro games were developed by Insomniac.
When the purchase of Activision Blizzard was first announced, Xbox boss Phil Spencer hinted that he would like to resurrect a lot of the company's dormant franchises. Spencer specifically name dropped examples like Hexen, Guitar Hero, and King's Quest as possible examples. It remains to be seen which, if any, of these franchises might return, but fans on PlayStation might not get the chance to experience them if they do!
Do you think some of these franchises will become Xbox exclusives? Are you surprised that the new deal only includes Call of Duty? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!